Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoadsorbents exhibit great
potential in the remediation of arsenic-polluted water. However, physicochemical
structure–adsorption performance relationship is not well-understood,
which retards further development of high-performance ZrO2 nanoadsorbents. Herein, a facile-controlled crystallization strategy
was developed to synthesize defective ZrO2 with the assistance
of organic ligands. Systematic characterizations showed that this
proposed synthesis strategy can be exploited to regulate the defective
density of ZrO2, whereas other structural properties remain
almost unchanged. Batch adsorption experiments exhibited that UiO-66-SH-A
with a higher lattice defect possessed a larger capacity and a faster
rate for the uptake of As(III)/As(V). The maximum capacities of UiO-66-SH-A
to uptake As(III) and As(V) were up to 90.7 and 98.8 mg/g, respectively,
which are 12.3 and 11.5 times larger than those of UiO-66-A. These
results from the structure–performance analysis and theoretical
calculations further reveal that lattice defect plays a key role in
the enhancement of arsenic adsorption on ZrO2. We hope
this new understanding of the structure-dependent adsorption performance
will provide a valuable insight for designing Zr-based nanoadsorbents
to capture arsenic.
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