Negatively Charged MOF-Based Composite Anion Exchange Membrane with High Cation Selectivity and Permeability

Abstract

Every metal and metallurgical industry is associated with the generation of wastewater, influencing the living and non-living environment, which is alarming to environmentalists. The strict regulations about the dismissal of acid and metal into the environment and the increasing emphasis on the recycling/reuse of these effluents after proper remedy have focused the research community’s curiosity in developing distinctive approaches for the recovery of acid and metals from industrial wastewaters. This study reports the synthesis of UiO-66-(COOH)2 using dual ligand in water as a green solvent. Then, the prepared MOF nanoparticles were introduced into the DMAM quaternized QPPO matrix through a straightforward blending approach. Four defect-free UiO-66-(COOH)2/QPPO MMMs were prepared with four different MOF structures. The BET characterization of UiO-66-(COOH)2 nanoparticles with a highly crystalline structure and sub-nanometer pore size (~7 Å) was confirmed by XRD. Because of the introduction of MOF nanoparticles with an electrostatic interaction and pore size screening effect, a separation coefficient (SHCl/FeCl2) of 565 and UHCl of 0.0089 m·h−1 for U-C(60)/QPPO were perceived when the loading dosage of the MOF content was 10 wt%. The obtained results showed that the prepared defect-free MOF membrane has broad prospects in acid recovery applications.