Temperature regulated adsorption and desorption of heavy metals to A-MIL-121: Mechanisms and the role of exchangeable protons

Adsorption is a viable technology to remove trace heavy metals from wastewater, but regeneration of adsorbents in an economic and environmentally friendly manner often represents a limiting factor of its application. Compared with traditional strong acid desorption, developing a chemical-free method is of great significance to both economic and the environmental welfare. Herein, we synthesized a novel thermoresponsive absorbent, A-MIL-121, which could effectively remove trace Cu(II) (> 95 %) from a high-salinity ([Na + ]/[Cu 2+ ] = 20000) water at normal temperature. At elevated temperature, A-MIL-121 could quickly and efficiently desorb Cu(II), with over 90% desorption rate at 80°C within 3 h. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that two types of –COOH groups existed in the material. One was in free form and acted as the sites for Cu(II) adsorption; the other was in dimer connected by two H-bonds, which cleaved at elevated temperature. As a result, massive exchangeable protons were released to the solution, which caused the desorption of Cu(II). Similar temperature dependent adsorption-desorption behavior was also found to other heavy metals, such as Cd 2+ , Pb 2+ , Ni 2+ . No significant capacity loss was observed after 10 successive adsorption-desorption cycles. Finally, Column experiments using a real copper electroplating wastewater showed that a total of ~ 1650 mL of clean water was generated before breakthrough (Cu 2+ < 0.5 mg/L), while less than 45 mL of 80°C water was used for regeneration. This study indicates the potential of A-MIL-121 as a novel green adsorbent to address trace heavy metals in wastewater.