Applied Chemistry Today

Applied Chemistry Today

Synthesis and characterization of Fe/Quasi MOF UIO-66 (Zr) nanocomposite for the removal of methylene blue dye from its aqueous solution and investigation of kinetic models

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Safari 1
Ahmad Akbari 1
Farhad Heidary 2
1 Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic sciences, Arak University, Arak, Iran
10.22075/chem.2026.38955.2396
Abstract
In this study, a Fe/Quasi MOF UIO-66 (Zr) nanocomposite synthesized via ultrasonic method was applied for the removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution. Physico-chemical and morphological properties of as-fabricated nanocomposites characterized by several methods including x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and N2 gas absorption/desorption analysis or Brunauer-Emmett-Tellers (BET). The photocatalytic activity of nanocomposite was investigated against Methylene blue dye and the effects of catalyst dosage, pH, initial dye concentration, contact time and temperature were investigated. Adsorption kinetics were evaluated using pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and interparticle diffusion models. The results showed that the optimal adsorbent dosage was 0.045 g and alkaline conditions (pH=11) led to the highest removal efficiency. Kinetic analysis indicated that although both kinetic models fitted the experimental data well, the pseudo-second order model exhibited a higher correlation coefficient, suggesting that adsorption is the dominant mechanism. Different analyses confirmed the successful synthesis and nanoscale structure of the Fe/Quasi UIO-66 composite.
Keywords
Methylene blue dye
metal-organic framework
removal kinetics
Subjects
Applied Chemistry Today
Volume 21, Issue 78
Spring 2026
Pages 55-76