In situ growth of MIL-101 (Fe) on waste PET plastic slices for effective arsenic removal

Converting waste Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into value-added metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as a prospective solution to plastic upcycling. Within this work, MIL-101(Fe)@PET was fabricated via microwave method. The as-prepared MIL-101(Fe)@PET performed high removal efficiency (100 %) toward three arsenic pollutants at low concentration (1 mg/L) within 60 min. The maximum adsorption capacity of MIL-101(Fe)@PET toward 4-aminophenylarsonic acid (ASA), hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid (ROX) and As(V) were 320.6, 476.5, 240.0 mg g−1, respectively. Further, the household water purifiers filter was assembled adopting the as-prepared MIL-101(Fe)@PET as absorbent. MIL-101(Fe)@PET filter performed higher arsenic removal efficiency than active carbon filter and commercial filter. The adsorption behaviors of MIL-101(Fe)@PET toward arsenic was found to be fitted with pseudo-second-order kinetic models and Langmuir isotherm models. The possible adsorption mechanism was proposed. The developed strategy provides a new method in the application of MOFs-based materials and upcycling waste plastics.