Fabrication of mixed matrix membranes based on PVDF matrix and ZrT-1-NH2 filler for efficient adsorptive removal of Orange G

Adsorption membranes have become a hot spot for wastewater treatment in recent years. Due to the lack of active sites in traditional inert materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, it is difficult to bind pollutants in water with high affinity. Therefore, in this study, ZrT-1-NH 2 /PVDF mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by combining an amino-functionalized Zr-based metal–organic cage (ZrT-1-NH 2 ) with a polymer substrate via non-solvent-induced phase separation method for the efficient removal of Orange G (OG) from water. This method has many advantages such as simplicity in operation, high applicability, controllable MOFs loading. The structural characteristics and adsorption properties and of MMMs were also investigated through a series of characterizations and experiments. The result shows that in a 100 mL OG solution with an initial concentration of 50 mg/L and pH=3, M60 exhibited significant adsorption capacity, the removal efficiency reached 97.23 %, with an adsorption capacity of 64.18 mg/g, which is much higher than the pristine PVDF membrane. It is mainly attributed to electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding interactions between ZrT-1-NH 2 and OG molecules. This is consistent with the DFT calculations. The introduction of ZrT-1-NH 2 filler improves the performance of PVDF membranes and expands their potential applications.