Synthesis and characterization of Ag@M-BTC (M = Zn & Cd) Nanocomposites for efficient removal of methylene blue and indigo carmine

• Published in: Journal of molecular structure 2024-09, Vol.1311, p.138302, Article 138302
• Main Authors: Brahma, Irabati, Ray, Sourajyoti, Majumder, Soma, Guha, Ankur Kanti, Bora, Sanchay Jyoti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorptive removal of dyes; Chemisorption; Microstructures; MOFS; Nanocomposites
• ISSN: 0022-2860; 1872-8014
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2024.138302

•The present work reports two MOF based nanocomposites and their detail structural characterization. The synthesized NCs were well characterized using various physico-chemical techniques such as FT-IR, PXRD, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, XPS and BET.•The Ag decorated robust Zn/Cd-MOFS exhibit excellent adsorptive degradation of the common organic dyes, MB and IC.•Theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the proposed mechanism of degradation of the dyes involving π-π interactions.•The reusability of the nanocomposites was also noticed for several runs.•The synthesized NCs can be projected as promising material for ensuring a clean environment. Two MOF based composite materials decorated with Ag NPs viz. Ag@M-BTC (BTC= 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate; M=Zn & Cd) were synthesised and characterized using various physicochemical techniques, including FT-IR, PXRD, FE-SEM, EDX, HR-TEM, BET and XPS. The FT-IR spectra of the nanocomposites (NCs) and the pristine MOFs suggest retention of the MOF structure in the resulting composite materials and the PXRD patterns confirm the presence of metallic Ag within the crystalline phase of the MOFs. The observed rough surfaces on the NCs as evidenced from FE-SEM micrographs, indicates the deposition of Ag NPs on the surface of the MOFs. Furthermore, HR-TEM images reveal the presence of nanosized Ag aggregates of spherical shape inside the MOF matrix as well as on the surface. The adsorption activity of the synthesised NCs have been assessed for Methylene Blue (MB) and Indigo Carmine (IC). It is observed that the NCs, Ag@Zn-BTC (1a) and Ag@Cd-BTC (2a) performs better degradation as compared to that of pristine MOFs. These NCs can degrade MB completely (100 %) after 50 min treatment time, while maximum 91 % degradation was recorded for the IC dye. Here, the degradation process can be thought of as operating via chemisorption phenomena, supported by theoretical calculations. Additionally, these NCs can be reused up-to three times for the effective degradation of dyes. [Display omitted]