Title : Potential of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) nanocomposite for separation of organic compounds from waste waters
Abstract:
Recent studies on organic compound removal from waste waters focused on effective sorbents having high degree of recyclability with an option to recover the organic materials (oils). Generally, hydrophobicity and specific surface area are the two main factors controlling sorbents oil removal capacity. Therefore, it is a need to develop simple, innovative routes to create easily separable, highly recyclable, highly porous nanostructures.
In this study, a facile synthesis method is applied to produce a novel highly hydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) coated onto carbon fiber (CF) fabric as a substrate without pre-modification. The product ZIF-8/CF was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and surface area estimation as well as sorption and desorption tests. The porous structure of ZIF8/CF consisted of fixed layers of carbon fabric and nanocrystalline ZIF-8. The ZIF-8 crystals increased the water contact angle of the carbon fabric to 150?, creating a shield toward water penetration. The ZIF-8/CF exhibited excellent reusability and recyclability (up to 25 cycles), without losing its efficiency.
Keywords: ZIF/Carbon, Nanocomposite, Waste water, Organic compounds
