Issue 1, 2019

Efficient removal of Pb2+ by Tb-MOFs: identifying the adsorption mechanism through experimental and theoretical investigations

Abstract

Nanotube-like Tb-based metal–organic frameworks (Tb-MOFs) were synthesized via the assembly of carboxylate-based ligands and Tb3+ under solvothermal conditions. The porous Tb-MOFs with high stability and considerable active functional groups make them ideal adsorbents in environment remediation. The factors influencing the adsorption property of Tb-MOFs toward Pb2+ ions were studied, comprising pH, ionic strength, adsorbent content, initial Pb2+ concentration and contact time. The Tb-MOFs exhibited excellent adsorption property with a maximum removal capacity of 547 mg g−1 and could maintain a high adsorption performance even after five cycles. Results from batch adsorption experiments and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis imply that the formation of the inner-sphere complex (C–/[double bond, length as m-dash]N⋯Pb) between the nitrogenous groups of Tb-MOFs and Pb2+ is the primary adsorption mechanism. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that the most favorable adsorption configuration varies with the reaction conditions and deprotonated functional groups tend to bond with Pb2+ at high pH. These results suggest that Tb-MOFs could be used as a promising adsorbent for the removal of Pb2+ ions from an aqueous environment.

Graphical abstract: Efficient removal of Pb2+ by Tb-MOFs: identifying the adsorption mechanism through experimental and theoretical investigations

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Sep 2018
Accepted
16 Nov 2018
First published
16 Nov 2018

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2019,6, 261-272

Efficient removal of Pb2+ by Tb-MOFs: identifying the adsorption mechanism through experimental and theoretical investigations

H. Zhu, J. Yuan, X. Tan, W. Zhang, M. Fang and X. Wang, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2019, 6, 261 DOI: 10.1039/C8EN01066H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements