Synthesizing Metal–Organic Framework UiO-66 Based on Polyethylene Terephthalate Wastes in MW Fields for Removing the Food Dye Tartrazine from Aqueous Solutions via Adsorption

A PET-UiO-66 sample of metal-organic framework UiO-66 (Zr6O4(OH)4bdc, bdc = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate/terephthalate), a promising adsorbent of persistent organic pollutants from aqueous media, is prepared using an original procedure assisted by MW activation of the reaction mass under atmospheric pressure following a one-step approach in the nontraditional “green” solvent triethylene glycol. The PET-UiO-66 material is synthesized using polymer waste (polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) as an organic linker (terephthalic or benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, H2bdc) to create the framework. Its adsorption activity is studied for the first time in the adsorption removal of the food dye tartrazine (Е-102) from aqueous media. It is established that the kinetics of adsorption is obeyed to a pseudo-second order, and its thermodynamics fits the Langmuir model.