A post-functional Ti-based MOFs composite for selective removal of Pb (II) from water

Lead ions in water have notorious effects on humans and environment. It is important to design an adsorbent with high adsorption capacity and reproducibility for efficiently removing Pb (II)ions from polluted water. Here, a novel Ti-based MOFs material (BDB-MIL-125(Ti)@Fe3O4) was prepared by modifying NH2-MIL-125(Ti) with sulfhydryl and amino groups. Due to the large number of active sites, the maximum Pb (II) adsorption capacity of BDB-MIL-125(Ti)@Fe3O4 was 710.79 mg/g at 25 °C and pH = 6 within 120 min corresponding to a maximum removal rate of 95.68%. The adsorbent also has extremely high selectivity and good cycling adsorption performance. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics agree with the Langmuir and the pseudo-second-order models, indicating that the process was chemisorption. Thermodynamic studies prove that spontaneous processes enhance Pb (II) adsorption at higher temperatures. DFT and FMOs calculations were used to discuss the adsorption mechanism. The sulfhydryl groups on the surface of organic ligands have a stronger affinity for Pb (II).