Adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions from model aqueous media using titanium metal-organic framework and its polyvinyl chloride functionalized composite

The present study was conducted on Ti-MOF and its PVC functionalized composite with the objective of toxic heavy metal ions removal from aqueous media. For achieving this purpose, the solvothermal method was used to synthesis Ti-MOF which was then functionalized with PVC for composite synthesis. The synthesized adsorbent materials were then analyzed via different techniques that include the FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX analysis along with TGA and point of zero charge (PZC). Batch experiments were conducted for nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) metal ions sorption from water, using the synthesized adsorbents, under different experimental conditions like initial metal ions concentration, pH, adsorbent's dosage, time of contact and temperature. The sorption of heavy metal ions by the adsorbents was increased with increasing the media dosage and concentration. Whereas, increasing the pH of the system, from pH-2 to pH-10, also enhanced the sorption phenomenon, because of the pronounced forces of attraction between the positively charged adsorbate ions and the adsorbent's negatively charged surface, accompanied by precipitation at a much higher pH. It was observed that the adsorption on the functionalized adsorbent surface was greater than the parent MOF material because of the availability of a greater number of adsorption sites, increasing the adsorption capacity of Ni ions from 6.436 to 29.2 mg/g and that of Cu ions from 21.414 to 41.616 mg/g. In addition, the composite material was found to have greater affinity towards Cu metal ions as compared to Ni metal ions, which is attributed to the smaller size of Cu metal ions as compared to Ni ions. To determine the adsorption mechanism, various adsorption isotherms were examined. The results concluded that the Langmuir adsorption isotherm was the suitable model to explain the adsorption mechanism.Moreover, thermodynamic parameters like Gibbs free energy (, change in enthalpy, along with the change in entropy, were determined. The sorption process was found to be more spontaneous at lower temperatures, with the exothermic nature of adsorption, in the case of Ni metal ions and the endothermic nature in the case of Cu metal ions.Also, the negative value of Delta S in case of Ni ions adsorption accounts for the decreased disorderliness of the system which is also the opposite tothat of Cu ions adsorption onto the surface of TiPVC composite.The PVC functionalized Ti-MOF was thus found to be an effective, durable, and environmentally friendly adsorbent, for the sorption of heavy metal ions from wastewater.