Controlled synthesis of porous nano/micro-sized metal-organic frameworks with superior capacity and selectivity for dye adsorption from aqueous solution

Abstract

Porous nano-/micro-sized metal–organic frameworks (NMOFs) were easily fabricated using a direct precipitation method at room temperature. The tetragonal bipyramidal-shaped NMOF 1b had a larger Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (2992 m2 g-1) than the pancake-shaped NMOF 1a (923 m2 g-1). Meanwhile, dye adsorption results indicated that NMOF 1b exhibited superior adsorption capacity (738 mg g-1), outstanding adsorption speed, and high adsorption selectivity for methylene blue in the presence of methyl orange and acid chrome blue K dyes. Therefore, NMOF 1b may be a promising candidate for the removal of organic dyes from aqueous solutions.