Designing a novel porous Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene/MOF-based 3D-printed architecture as an efficient and easy recoverable adsorbent for organic dye removal from aqueous solution

Recently, the 3D-printing approach has received considerable attention in the field of wastewater treatment. This is due to the ability to fabricate adsorbents with fine architectures that are easily recoverable through this technique. Here, the Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets were hybridised with zirconium-based metal-organic framework (UiO-66) through a simple in-situ solvothermal synthesis to develop an efficient adsorbent for organic dye removal. To avoid the secondary pollution of the powdery composite as well as to facilitate the recycling of adsorbent, the 3D-printed MXene/UiO-66 architectures with different lattice geometries of grid, star, and honeycomb were produced. The prepared adsorbent underwent thorough XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS, TEM, BET, and UV-Vis absorption characterisation. Structural characterisations revealed the successful synthesis of MXene/UiO-66 composite with specific surface area of 347.28 m2/g and a large pore volume of 0.26 cm3/g, which was uniformly immobilised over and within the 3D-printed architectures with hierarchical porous structures. The 3D-printed MXene/UiO-66 architecture with honeycomb geometry exhibited desired dye removal performance for both the MO (88.95%) and DR31 (76.98%) dyes. The adsorption kinetic was analysed with different kinetic models and it was found that the adsorption followed the pseudo-first-order model. The 3D-printed MXene/UiO-66 architectures also displayed good reusability and stability after four cycles. This work suggests the 3D-printed MXene/UiO-66 architecture as a potential candidate for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater and environmental protection.