Metal-Organic Frameworks for Dual Photo-Oxidation and Capture of Arsenic from Water

Despite rapid technological progress, heavy metal waterpollution, and particularly arsenic contamination, remains asignificant global challenge. In addition, the stabilization oftrivalent arsenic as neutral arsenite (AsIII) species hinders itsremoval by conventional sorbents. While adsorption of anionicarsenate (AsV) species is in principle more feasible, there areonly few adsorbents capable of adsorbing both forms ofarsenic. In this work, we explore the potential of two wellknownfamilies of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), UiO-66and MIL-125, to simultaneously adsorb and photo-oxidizearsenic species from water. Our results demonstrate that theformation of AsV ions upon light irradiation promotes thesubsequent adsorption of AsIII species. Thus, we propose thecombined utilization of photocatalysis and adsorption withMetal-Organic Framework photocatalysts for water remediationpurposes