Synthesis of UiO-66 with addition of HKUST-1 for enhanced adsorption of RBBR dye

Toxic dye removal, one of the most serious and common industrial pollutants released into natural water, is a critical issue for modern civilization. In this study, a series of UiO-66 composites was synthesized with addition of HKUST-1 using solvothermal method, which was used to remove RBBR dye. The structure, morphology and surface area of the composites were studied by several analyses. HK(5)/UiO-66 possessed a specific surface area of 557.63 m2/g and showed an adsorption capacity of 400 mg/g, higher than that of UiO-66 (261.92 mg/g) with a contact time of 50 min. Several adsorption parameters that influenced RBBR removal efficiency were investigated, such as pH, initial dye concentrations, and temperature. All the composites followed pseudo-first order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm adsorption. Moreover, the adsorption process occurred exothermically and spontaneously, indicating that the adsorption process was advantageous in terms of energy. The possible adsorption mechanism and cost analysis of the adsorbent were also studied in detail.