Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment

Abstract Due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties, MXenes have been the focus of growing research attention for their potential to effectively eliminate a wide range of pollutants from the aquatic environment. However, disadvantages such as limited adsorption capacity due to low spe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Parisa Taherpoor, Farzaneh Farzad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87527-1
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850153599995215872
author Parisa Taherpoor
Farzaneh Farzad
author_facet Parisa Taherpoor
Farzaneh Farzad
author_sort Parisa Taherpoor
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties, MXenes have been the focus of growing research attention for their potential to effectively eliminate a wide range of pollutants from the aquatic environment. However, disadvantages such as limited adsorption capacity due to low specific surface area and undeveloped porosity have led to challenges in using these materials. In this work, we use a well-known MXene, Ti3C2Tx, by decorating zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8) between MXene layers (MX@ZIF) to remove methyl orange (MO) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), as well as, the effect of -O and -OH terminal groups on adsorption efficiency of MX@ZIF substrate is investigated. Our findings from molecular dynamics simulations showed that the MXO@ZIF and MXOH@ZIF systems have stronger electrostatic interactions than the MX@ZIF system due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between the –O, –OH terminal groups from the substrates and heteroatoms of pollutant molecules. Moreover, the van der Waals energy values in the MXOH@ZIF-CIP and MXOH@ZIF-MO systems are − 253.454 and − 201.660 kJ/mol, respectively, demonstrating the effective adsorption and removal of contaminants by designed substrates. The MD results show that the van der Waals interaction has a greater contribution than the electrostatic interaction in studied systems. Also, the number of contacts of pollutant molecules with the substrate increases with time, and the highest number of contacts belongs to the MXOH@ZIF-CIP and MXOH@ZIF-MO complexes, demonstrating that this substrate has a greater tendency to adsorb pollutants. Furthermore, the results of AIM calculations confirm the presence of non-covalent interactions between pollutant molecules and studied substrates. This study shows that MXOH/ZIF can be considered a promising high-performance adsorbent for removing organic dyes and antibiotics.
format Article
id doaj-art-c0b0aa9a40e44503af56f225c07ffee3
institution OA Journals
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-c0b0aa9a40e44503af56f225c07ffee32025-08-20T02:25:40ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-87527-1Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatmentParisa Taherpoor0Farzaneh Farzad1Department of Chemistry, University of BirjandDepartment of Chemistry, University of BirjandAbstract Due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties, MXenes have been the focus of growing research attention for their potential to effectively eliminate a wide range of pollutants from the aquatic environment. However, disadvantages such as limited adsorption capacity due to low specific surface area and undeveloped porosity have led to challenges in using these materials. In this work, we use a well-known MXene, Ti3C2Tx, by decorating zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8) between MXene layers (MX@ZIF) to remove methyl orange (MO) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), as well as, the effect of -O and -OH terminal groups on adsorption efficiency of MX@ZIF substrate is investigated. Our findings from molecular dynamics simulations showed that the MXO@ZIF and MXOH@ZIF systems have stronger electrostatic interactions than the MX@ZIF system due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between the –O, –OH terminal groups from the substrates and heteroatoms of pollutant molecules. Moreover, the van der Waals energy values in the MXOH@ZIF-CIP and MXOH@ZIF-MO systems are − 253.454 and − 201.660 kJ/mol, respectively, demonstrating the effective adsorption and removal of contaminants by designed substrates. The MD results show that the van der Waals interaction has a greater contribution than the electrostatic interaction in studied systems. Also, the number of contacts of pollutant molecules with the substrate increases with time, and the highest number of contacts belongs to the MXOH@ZIF-CIP and MXOH@ZIF-MO complexes, demonstrating that this substrate has a greater tendency to adsorb pollutants. Furthermore, the results of AIM calculations confirm the presence of non-covalent interactions between pollutant molecules and studied substrates. This study shows that MXOH/ZIF can be considered a promising high-performance adsorbent for removing organic dyes and antibiotics.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87527-1
spellingShingle Parisa Taherpoor
Farzaneh Farzad
Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
Scientific Reports
title Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
title_full Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
title_fullStr Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
title_short Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
title_sort exploring the synergistic effect of mxene zif 8 hybrid composites for water treatment
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87527-1
work_keys_str_mv AT parisataherpoor exploringthesynergisticeffectofmxenezif8hybridcompositesforwatertreatment
AT farzanehfarzad exploringthesynergisticeffectofmxenezif8hybridcompositesforwatertreatment