Combination of Cu and Zn on ZIF structure for efficient degradation of basic fuchsin in aqueous solution

The present work aims to synthesize bimetallic CuZn-ZIFs using a solvothermal method to degrade Basic Fuchsin in an aqueous solution in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) under ambient conditions. Zn and Cu were loaded successfully on the ZIF structure due to the linkage of Cu–N and Zn-N found by FT-IR. The combination of Cu/Zn on the ZIF structure enhanced the specific surface area up to 1568.4 m² g⁻¹ and 0.48 cm³ g⁻¹ of pore volume, which can facilitate the performance of BF degradation. Under the optimum conditions, including a reaction time of 20 min, an initial BF concentration of 30 mg L⁻¹, and catalyst dosage of 0.1 g L⁻¹, H₂O₂ level of 0.03 mol L⁻¹, the efficiency degradation of BF achieved significantly high with above 96% through Fenton-like mechanism. CuZn-ZIFs also performed higher catalytic activity compared to some homogeneous and other heterogeneous catalysts. Notably, it was observed that the catalytic activity of CuZn-ZIFs mostly remained after five cycles. The study offers valuable insights into the utilization of novel materials for potential applications in pollutant treatment and environmental remediation.