Adsorptive decolorization of brilliant green dye in aqueous media using various modified MOF-5 adsorbents

Dye pollution in environmental water is a serious problem worldwide, posing significant environmental and health concerns. To effectively address this problem, this study investigates the adsorptive decolorization of brilliant green (BG) dye in aqueous media by using various metal-organic frameworks (MOF-5)-based adsorbents modified with industrial wastes (coal fly ash (CFA) and rice husk ash (RHA)). The adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate their performance under varying conditions, and the synthesized and spent adsorbents (selected) were characterized. The results showed that the adsorbent samples possessed the characteristics of a good adsorbent. MOF-5 coated with thermally treated RHA at 900 °C (MOF-5@ – with BET surface area = 91.6810 m2 g-1) has the highest observed BG dye adsorption efficiency (92%) and adsorption capacity (30.22 mg/g) at adsorbent mass of 1.4 g, contact time of 2 h, and initial dye concentration of 20 mg L-1. BG dye removal increased with an increase in contact time and adsorbent amount and decreased with an increase in initial dye concentration. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm equilibrium studies revealed that the adsorption data were best fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9507) and Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0. 0.9929), respectively. These findings highlight the potential of mesoporous MOF-5@ as an effective adsorbent for BG dye decolorization in aqueous media, with implications for water treatment and the utilization of industrial waste materials.