We report on the successful functionalization of cotton fabrics with a water-stable metal–organic framework (MOF), UiO-66, under mild solvothermal conditions (80 °C) and its ability to adsorb and degrade water micropollutants. The functionalized cotton samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). UiO-66 crystals grew in a uniform and conformal manner over the surface of the cotton fibers. The cotton fabrics functionalized with UiO-66 frameworks exhibited an enhanced uptake capacity for methylchlorophenoxypropionic acid (MCPP), a commonly used herbicide. The functionalized fabrics also showed photocatalytic activity, demonstrated by the degradation of acetaminophen, a common pharmaceutical compound, under simulated sunlight irradiation. These results indicate that UiO-66 can be supported on textile substrates for filtration and photocatalytic purposes and that these substrates can find applications in wastewater decontamination and micropollutant degradation.

The optical absorption of UiO-66-NH2 MOF was red-shifted using a diazo-coupling reaction. The modifications performed with naphthols and aniline yielded reddish samples, and the modifications with diphenylaniline yielded dark violet ones. The photocatalytic activity of these modified MOFs was assessed for methylene blue degradation, showing a good performance relative to traditional TiO2. The degradation performance was found to correlate with the red shift of the absorption edge. These findings suggest potential applications of these materials in photocatalysis and in dye sensitized solar cells.