Effect of different lanthanide ions on the catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate with lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) with terephthalic acid

Abstract Ln-MOFs with four different Ln-ions (La, Ce, Gd, Tb) and terephthalic acid (H 2 BDC) were synthesised by solvothermal method. The crystals structure was confirmed by powder XRD and infrared spectroscopy (IR) corresponding to [Ln 2 (BDC) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ] ∞ and microstructural information of all samples was extracted by applying Rietveld refinement. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the morphology of the samples was revealed. First time applying Ln-MOFs for the catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) demonstrated their potential application as catalysts in a Fenton-like reaction for water purification from the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). For the best performing Ce-MOF degradation of TCH reached 80% that’s why additional experiment for determination of activation energy and the mechanism of the catalytic reaction were performed. The stability of the catalyst was also confirmed by powder XRD after the reaction.