Trace pyrolyzed ZIF-67 loaded activated carbon pellets for enhanced adsorption and catalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in water

Activated carbon is one of the most commonly used adsorbent and catalyst carrier material. However, its performance for removal of organic compounds from water is relatively poor. In this work, trace amount of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-67 (ZIF-67) was loaded onto commercial activated carbon (AC) pellets and subsequently calcined at 800 °C for 6 h. The obtained material (cal-ZIF-67/AC) showed highly dispersed Co and N on its surface and its specific surface area was as high as original activated carbon. Besides, it also exhibited weak magnetic property. The cal-ZIF-67/AC was further used as adsorbent for Rhodamine B (RhB) removal and as catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for RhB degradation. It was found that cal-ZIF-67/AC exhibited good adsorption performances for RhB, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 46.2 mg/g, which is more than twice that of AC. Besides, it showed high activity in effective activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to produce sulfate radicals for oxidative degradation of RhB.