Interweaving two dimensional mesoporous covalent organic frameworks for efficient removal of mercury from aqueous solution

The current study defines the ultrasound-assisted solvothermal synthesis of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) using a combination of 4,4′-diaminobiphenyl and trialdehyde (BDTA-COF). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirm the formation of COF, which aligns better with AA stacking than AB stacking. The morphology of the formed COFs is a flower-like structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) results show that imine linkages are forming and that the aldehayde and amine peaks are not present. The formed BDTA-COF was found to be mesoporous and exhibit 2.4 nm pore size with 472 m² g⁻¹ surface area. BDTA-COF has been evaluated for the effective removal of Hg⁺ from an aqueous solution through adsorption. Maximum adsorption efficiency (99 %) was achieved by optimizing the parameters like selectivity of metal, concentration, pH, amount of adsorbent. The nitrogen atoms from the imine linkages and the oxygen atoms in BDTA-COF are the primary active sites for effective adsorption of Hg⁺. The adsorption kinetics control the chemisorption of Hg⁺ with the BDTA-COF's imine group since the results fit well with the pseudo-second-order model. Among the various isotherm models, the BDTA-COF/Hg⁺ system followed the Langmuir model and insists on the monolayer adsorption phenomena. After adsorption, the XRD shows a slight change in peak positions, and the SEM image indicates the deposition of micrometer-sized particles onto the BDTA-COF. After adsorption, FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) tests show the interaction of functional groups of BDTA-COF and Hg⁺. High surface area, covalency, porosity, ordered confinement, imine linkages and stability of COFs could be the reasons for good adsorption efficiency and need additional tuning for practical applications for adsorption removal of pollutants from water.