Synthesis of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) MIL-100(Fe) functionalized with thioglycolic acid and ethylenediamine for removal of eosin B dye from aqueous solution

The interaction of eosin B dye from aqueous solution with MIL-100(Fe) and functionalized MIL-100(Fe) metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is reported in this study. MIL-100(Fe) was prepared and functionalized with thioglycolic acid (TH) and ethylenediammine (ED) separately by incorporating the thiol (–SH) and the amine (–NH2) group of the functionalizing agents into the open metal sites of the MIL-100(Fe) to obtain the acidic (TH-MIL-100) and basic (ED-MIL-100) forms of the MOF respectively. Characterization of the MOFs was done by melting point analysis, elemental analysis, spectroscopic techniques, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and powdered X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. The adsorption experiments were carried out at different conditions such as pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, temperature, and initial concentration of the dye to estimate the optimum conditions and the maximum adsorption capacities. Adsorption capacities were observed to increase in the order of ED-MIL-100 < MIL-100 < TH-MIL-100, while the TH-MIL-100 was the most effective in the removal process due to acid–base interaction between the acidic thiol group (–SH) and the alkaline medium of eosin B dye solution. The Langmuir Isotherm was seen to fit well to adsorption data obtained for all three adsorbent materials studied, and adsorption processes followed the pseudo-second order kinetics. This study, therefore, indicates the suitability of functionalization of MIL-100(Fe) towards improving its adsorption capacity.