Adsorptive removal of antibiotic sulfonamide by UiO-66 and ZIF-67 for wastewater treatment

Adsorptive removal of a toxic sulfonamide antibiotic, sulfachloropyradazine (SCP), from aqueous solution was studied on several metal organic frameworks, UiO-66 and ZIF-67, for the first time. UiO-66 exhibited a much higher adsorption capacity than ZIF-67, fast kinetics, and easy regeneration for reuse, demonstrating as a promising adsorbent in wastewater treatment processes. The batch adsorption shows an adsorption capacity of SCP at 417 mg/g on UiO-66. The kinetic adsorption of SCP on UiO-66 reached equilibrium just in 10 min and the kinetics fits accurately with a pseudo 2nd order model. A plausible mechanism was proposed based on pH effect, pKa value of the adsorbate and Zeta potential of UiO-66. The high adsorption is mainly contributed to hydrophobicity and π-π interactions along with electrostatic interactions. Thermodynamic studies show the spontaneous adsorption and exothermic process. The easy regeneration and high adsorption capacity confirms structural stability of the robust UiO-66 in wastewater treatment processes, making it suitable for a large scale application.