PAN/PVP/CD-MOF Composite Beads for the Removal of Methylene Blue and Congo Red in Water

Cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) are synthesized from green precursors, making them an ideal material for green adsorbents. However, CD-MOFs are unstable in water, thus limiting their applications. Here, we report encapsulating CD-MOFs in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymeric support to produce PAN/PVP/CD-MOF composite beads. Batch adsorption studies showed that high dye adsorption capacities could be obtained at intermediate PVP, high PAN, and low CD-MOF loadings. Maximum MB and CR sorption capacities under optimum bead formulation: PAN = 6.96 wt.%, PVP = 2.20 wt.%, and CD-MOF = 2.88 wt.%. The optimized composite beads have a sorption capacity of 37.40 mg/g for MB and 18.42 mg/g for CR. We showed that PAN/PVP/CD-MOF composite beads could be an excellent adsorbent for textile dye removal in water.