3D Print-Based Polypyrrole /TiVCTx/UiO-66 Composites for Effective Adsorption of Combined Pollutants in Water Media

Abstract

The presence of heavy metals and dyes in contaminated water systems at the same time poses significant threats to the integrity of the environment as well as to the health of the general public. Therefore, a novel TiVCTx/UiO-66 composite was prepared by in-situ growth synthesis in this paper. The risk of difficult separation and recovery of powder materials in water medium and easy secondary pollution is considered. 3D printing technology is used to design and prepare 3D structures (3DS) with high porosity and connectivity. Immediately, a novel monolithic adsorbent (PPy/TiVCTx/UiO-66/3DS) was synthesized by combining polypyrrole (PPy) with TiVCTx/UiO-66 and fixing it on the surface of the 3D structure. The adsorption performance of monolithic adsorbents was assessed through single-factor batch adsorption tests conducted within single and combined pollutant systems. According to the findings, the adsorbent demonstrates remarkable separation and recovery characteristics, as it is able to efficiently remove Congo red (CR) and Cr(Ⅵ) from aqueous solutions. The maximum adsorption capacities reached 230.96 mg/g for CR and 40.84 mg/g for Cr(VI). Interestingly, the presence of trace Cr(VI) (20 ppm) induced a 9.84% enhancement in CR adsorption capacity. After five successive regeneration cycles, the adsorbent retained 97.65% and 67.84% removal efficiencies for CR and Cr(VI). In addition, the fixed bed column can effectively dynamically remove CR and Cr(Ⅵ) of about 600mL and 360mL. The ongoing advancement of 3D printing technology increases efficiency in producing large-scale models. This trend indicates that monolithic adsorbents created using 3D printing possess substantial potential for practical application in wastewater treatment processes.