Synthesis of HKUST-1 with addition of Al-MCM-41 as adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution

HKUST-1 and Al-MCM-41/HKUST-1 composites were successfully synthesized by a solvothermal method in a mixture of N-N′-dimethylformamide (DMF), ethanol and water in a ratio of 1:1:1 at 100°C for 10h, with mass variations of Al-MCM-41 at 3, 5 and 7% toward the mass of HKUST-1, respectively. The results of the XRD analysis showed characteristic peaks of HKUST-1 at 2θ of 6.61, 9.39, 11.51 and 13.31° with high intensities. The addition of mesoporous aluminosilicate, Al-MCM-41, did not significantly alter the diffraction pattern except for the decrease in the intensity of the characteristic peaks. The FTIR spectra showed the presence of absorption bands typical of both HKUST-1 and Al-MCM-41 materials. HKUST-1 and Al-MCM-41/HKUST-1 composites showed exceptional performance in rapidly removing methylene blue at greater than 95% removal in less than 14min. Isothermal and kinetic adsorption studies follow the modeling of the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetics.