ZIF-Derived Nanocomposite Supporting Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Toward Degradation of Basic Fuchsin Dye in Wastewater via Enhanced ROS Generation

Abstract

This research synthesized a ZIF-9-based catalytic material combined with supermagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs), Fe₃O₄/ZIF-9, to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in the basic fuchsin (BF) treatment process. Comprehensive characterization Fe₃O₄/ZIF-9 of by PXRD, FT–IR, SEM, EDX, VSM, and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms techniques confirmed that the Fe₃O₄ NPs were successfully incorporated into ZIF-9 without affecting its crystal structure. With the action of 0.04 g L⁻¹ of Fe₃O₄/ZIF-9 and 0.2 g L⁻¹ of PMS, the treatment efficiency of BF (30 mg L⁻¹) reached 97.4% ± 0.1% after 20 min at room temperature (28°C). In the Fe₃O₄/ZIF-9/PMS system for BF removal, the Co and Fe leaching concentrations were 0.216 and 0.007 mg.L⁻¹, respectively. The main agents degrading BF were identified as singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and sulfate radical (SO₄^•−). High-performance mass spectrometry (HRMS) and the ecological structure-activity relationship prediction model showed a reduction in by-product toxicity compared to the original BF. Furthermore, the Fe₃O₄/ZIF-9 catalytic system showed excellent recovery and reuse after 4 cycles, with efficiency remaining above 85%. This study has demonstrated the superior effectiveness of metal nanocatalysts based on ZIFs synthesized by a simple solvothermal method, highlighting their role in environmental pollution treatment and promising expansion into other practical applications.