Functionalized waste cellulose with metal-organic-frameworks as the adsorbent with adjustable pore size: Ultralight, effective, and selective removal of organic dyes.

In this work, we proposed a green and low-cost method to prepare novel waste cellulose/ZIF-67 composite aerogels as the adsorbent. These composites were fabricated by assembling ZIF-67 crystals into the three-dimension framework of cellulose aerogel derived from waste cigarettes. Due to the high specific surface area and electrostatic attraction, as-prepared waste cellulose/ZIF-67 aerogels had a high adsorption capacity for anionic dyes. The methyl orange was selectively adsorbed by waste cellulose/ZIF-67 compared to methyl blue. The maximum adsorption capacity for methyl orange reached to 134.36 ​mg ​g−1. Interestingly, this adsorption capacity can maintain above 80% after 5 cycles. Thus, as-prepared waste cellulose/ZIF-67 aerogels in this paper have an important potential application in waste water treatment as a selective adsorbent. The zeolitic imidazolate framworks-67 (ZIF-67) decorated waste cellulose aerogels are fabricated by a facile blending method using waste cigarette filters and NaOH/urea as cellulose resources and a green solvent, respectively. The as-prepared samples exhibit effective selective adsorption behavior of methyl orange. [Display omitted] • The waste cigarette filters were used as cellulose resources. • The specific surface area of WCA/ZIF-67 aerogel is high up to 825 ​m2 ​g−1. • The WCA/ZIF-67 aerogel shows an excellent selective adsorption capacity for anion dyes. • The WCA/ZIF-67 aerogel has superior reusability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]