Layered Double Hydroxides Derived from MIL-88A(Fe) as an Efficient Adsorbent for Enhanced Removal of Lead (II) from Water

The efficient removal of lead (II) from aqueous solution remains a big problem and the development of novel nanomaterials as adsorbents by various technologies to solve this problem is promising. This study contributed a novel nanostructure of MIL-88A-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) as the adsorbent for Pb2+, which was synthesized by a two-step solvothermal method with MIL-88A(Fe) as the precursor. The as-prepared material featured a chestnut-like core-shell structure, and exhibited excellent removal performance towards Pb2+ from water in comparison to MIL-88A(Fe) and LDHs (directly synthesized). The adsorption of Pb2+ by the MIL-88A-LDHs conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximal adsorption capacity was 526.32, 625.00, and 909.09 mg g−1 at 278, 298, and 318 K, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption was an endothermic, entropy-increasing, and spontaneous reaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the surface complexation was mostly responsible for Pb2+ elimination. The MIL-88A-LDHs can be readily regenerated and showed good cyclic performance towards Pb2+. Thus, the as-prepared MIL-88A-LDHs may hold promise for the elimination of aqueous heavy metals.