Facile fabrication of MOF(Fe)@alginate aerogel and its application for a high-performance slow-release N-fertilizer

Abstract In this work, a novel MOF(Fe)@NaAlg aerogels composite were fabricated by a facile method of ion cross-linking, and characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and BET surface area analysis. The MOF(Fe)@NaAlg aerogels loaded by ammonium (NH4+) was prepare to the slow-release fertilizer (SRF). The adsorption capacity and swelling of MOF(Fe)@NaAlg(2:10) were 29.4 mg/g and 73 g/g, respectively. The swelling behaviors of MOF(Fe)@NaAlg(2:10) in different saline solutions were investigated. The release assessments confirmed the effective role of MOF(Fe) in slow-release property of the prepared formulation. Also, the prepared fertilizer formulation exhibited excellent water-retention capacity in soil. Therefore, they will have a great potential application in the field of agriculture.