Zr-MOFs loaded on polyurethane foam by polydopamine for enhanced dye adsorption

Zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have attracted widespread attention due to their high specific surface area, high porosity, abundant metal active sites and excellent hydrothermal stability. However, Zr-MOFs materials are mostly powdery in nature and thus difficult to separate from aqueous media, which limits their application in wastewater treatment. In this study, PDA/Zr-MOFs/PU foam was constructed by growing Zr-MOFs nanoparticles on a dopamine-modified polyurethane foam substrate by in-situ hydrothermal synthesis as an adsorbent for removing dyes from wastewater. The results demonstrated that the polydopamine coating improves the dispersion of the Zr-MOFs nanoparticles on the substrate and enhances the interaction between the Zr-MOFs nanoparticles and the PU foam substrate. As a result, compared with Zr-MOFs/PU foam, the prepared PDA/Zr-MOFs/PU foam exhibits higher adsorption capacity for crystal violet (CV) (63.38 mg/g) and rhodamine B (RB) (67.73 mg/g), with maximum adsorption efficiencies of CV and RB of 98.4% (pH=11) and 93.5% (pH=7), respectively, at a concentration of 10 mg/L. The PDA/Zr-MOFs/PU foam can simultaneously remove CV and RB from the mixed solution. Moreover, the PDA/Zr-MOFs/PU foam still exhibits high stability and reusability after five cycles.