Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2022 Program

Jeffrey Barzach ’22
CHEMISTRY
Senior Thesis Research Funding Awardee
THESIS TITLE
Destroying Pollutants
With Visible Light Using
UiO-Series Metal-
Organic Frameworks
ADVISER
Michele Sarazen,
Assistant Professor of
Chemical and Biological
Engineering
Wastewater pollution has become a globally
problematic issue, increasing the need for more
efficient and sustainable methods of aqueous
pollutant removal. Photocatalysis using metalorganic
frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as one
such method in which MOFs absorb light energy
to degrade pollutants. Current MOF-based
photocatalytic applications typically involve
UV irradiation, which is energy-intensive and
costly; optimizing MOFs for visible light usage
is much more desirable. My study investigated
three strategies for optimizing the visible-light
degradation efficiency of the zirconium-based
UiO-series MOF (UiO-66 and UiO-67) for the
degradation of a model wastewater pollutant,
methylene blue dye. These strategies included
altering crystal size; expanding pore size via
linker modulation; and incorporating copper
as a secondary metal. Altering crystal size
and incorporating copper were relatively
ineffectual due to the tendency for small-particle
agglomeration in the former and independent
copper dendrite depositions inherent to the
latter. Linker modulation through the use of UiO-
67 — rather than UiO-66 — was more effective
and promising due to UiO-67’s strong initial
adsorptive properties and increased pore sizes
that allowed for improved internal active site
usage.
WATER AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
34