High-performance Hg2+ removal from ultra-low-concentration aqueous solution using both acylamide- and hydroxyl-functionalized metal-organic framework

Mercury (Hg2+), even an ultra-low-concentration amount in water, presents a serious environmental concern. Thus, the removal, especially Hg(II) content at the ultratrace levels (ppb), from water is still challenging. In this work, without any pretreatment, anovel MOF material can act as a high-capacity and collectable adsorbent for the removal of Hg(II) from water, especially for ultratrace Hg2+ ions in the ppb magnitude, mainly due to a combined effect from the pore walls functionalized by free-standing, accessible acylamide and hydroxyl units.