Nanoporous Carbon Derived from MOF-5: A Superadsorbent for Copper Ions

In this work, nanoporous carbon (NPC) was synthesized by direct carbonization of MOF-5 (a famous metal-organic framework). The structure and morphology of the prepared MOF-derived nanoporous carbon (MOF-NPC) were investigated by X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy methods. The MOF-NPC was then used to adsorb copper ions from aqueous solutions. To evaluate the performance of the prepared MOF-NPC to remove copper ions, both adsorption kinetics and adsorption equilibrium experiments were carried out and then the obtained data were modeled with various models. Also, the efficacy of temperature and the pH of the solution on the removal efficiency were checked. The results show that the prepared MOF-NPC is a superadsorbent for the removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions. Finally, the removal percentage of copper ions by the prepared MOF-NPC was compared with other activated carbon adsorbents to show its incredible efficiency.