Preparation of formic acid-modified zirconium based metal organic frameworks for toluene absorption

UiO-66 is a widely used metal-organic frameworks in air pollution control. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the important atmosphere pollutants that damage atmospheric environment and people health. UiO-66 was prepared by solvothermal method and modified with formic acid. All the materials were successfully prepared and characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, TG and FTIR, and the adsorption ability of UiO-66 was tested by toluene. The results showed that the BET specific surface area of UiO-66 synthesized by formic acid doping was enhanced, and the adsorption capacity of the doped adsorbent was significantly higher than that of UiO-66, which could reach up to 424.9 mg/g when the doping amount of formic acid was 20 mmol. The addition of acid during the reaction process could inhibit the recrystallization of H2BDC, which was beneficial for the pore structure construction of the material. Meanwhile, the material was subjected to static and dynamic adsorption, as well as adsorption-desorption continuous cycle experiments, which showed that the material has high thermal stability, and the desorption efficiency was 90.8% after five cycle experiments. The addition of formic acid can improve the adsorption performance of the specific surface area of UiO-66. Zirconium-based metal organic fremeworks UiO-66 doped with formic acid for toluene adsorption. [Display omitted] •UiO-66 were synthesized by solvothermal method, the adsorption performance was further optimized by adding formic acid.•The HCOOH-2 expressed the highest adsorption capacity of toluene, the regeneration efficiency of five cycles reached 90.8%.•The HCOOH could inhibit the recrystallization of H2BDC, increase the specific surface area and adsorption capacity of UiO-66.