Speaker
Description
Abstract. Graphene-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composites and their defective counterparts were synthesised by combining electrochemically exfoliated graphene with solvothermal synthesis. To generate missing linker defects within the framework, formic acid was used as a modulator. The suc-cessful integration of G10v within the synthesised MOFs was characterised by textural analysis and spectroscopic techniques. The pristine MOFs, G10v, and their composite counterparts, were evaluated for their adsorption properties toward widely detected pharmaceuticals in wastewater, such as carbamazepine (CBZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The adsorption capacity and removal ef-ficiency of these materials were investigated using screening experiments. The De-UiO-66/G10v and De-UiO-66NH2/G10v exhibited the highest removal ef-ficiencies for SMX, reaching 74% and 72%, respectively. For CBZ, both De-UiO-66/G10v and De-UiO-66NH2/G10v achieved a removal efficiency of 58%. These values represent an enhanced removal efficiency compared to their non-defective (UiO-66/G10v and UiO-66NH2/G10v) counterparts and pristine materials (UiO-66, UiO-66NH2, and G10v). Defect formation within the MOF framework increased the material surface area and created additional active sites, promoting stronger adsorption interactions with CBZ and SMX mole-cules. NMR relaxation experiments were conducted using water as a probe molecule to investigate the strength of surface interaction in MOF/G10v com-posites. The findings show that De-UiO-66/G10v and De-UiO-66NH2/G10v exhibited a higher T1/T2 ratio compared to UiO-66/G10v and UiO-66NH2/G10v and their pristine counterparts (UiO-66, UiO-66NH2, and G10v), indicating stronger surface interactions with water molecules, highlighting the benefits of defects in MOFs/graphene composites in improving adsorption ca-pacity for removing pharmaceutical contaminants from water.
