Experimental and electrical studies of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 for the adsorption of different dyes

• Adsorption properties of ZIF-8. • Adsorption fit with pseudo second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model. • The AC and DC properties of ZIF-8 as semiconductor behavior. • The BET surface area was 21.824 m 2 /g and pore volume 0.026 cm 3 /g. The zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) was prepared in this study, which is a form of metal organic framework (MOF). ZIF-8 was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The material was used to eliminate Remazol Black 5 (RB5) and Brilliant Green (BG) dyes from aqueous media via chemical adsorption process. Adsorption kinetics, isotherms, dosage effect, initial concentration effect and pH were all investigated. According to the findings of the previous studies, the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and the Langmuir isotherm match our experimental adsorption data. Thermodynamic adsorption characteristics such as enthalpy, entropy, and Gibb's free energy were calculated. The sorption process was taking place spontaneously and it was endothermic in nature with high disorder of solid–liquid interface. ZIF-8′s AC and DC properties were investigated, and it revealed typical semiconductor activity.