Remarkable adsorptive removal of nitrogen-containing compounds from a model fuel by a graphene oxide/MIL-101 composite through a combined effect of improved porosity and hydrogen bonding

Highlights: • Metal-organic frameworks (MIL-101) were composed with graphene oxide (GnO). • GnO/MIL-101 showed the highest adsorption capacity for indole and quinoline. • Adsorption mechanism was clearly shown based on adsorption results and FTIR. • GnO/MIL-101 might be applied commercially considering capacity and reusability. - Abstract: A composite was prepared by combining a highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF), MIL-101 (Cr-benzenedicarboxylate), and graphene oxide (GnO). The porosity of the composite increased appreciably by the addition of GnO up to a specific amount in the MOF, though further increases in the quantity of GnO was detrimental to porosity. The improved porosity of the GnO/MIL-101 composite was utilized for adsorptive denitrogenation (ADN) of a model fuel where indole (IND) and quinoline (QUI) were used as nitrogen-containing compounds (NCCs). It was found that both IND and QUI showed improved adsorption on the composite compared with pristine MIL-101 or GnO due to the improved porosity of the composite. Interestingly, the improvement in adsorption of IND was much higher than the quantity estimated for the porosity. Importantly, GnO/MIL-101 showed the highest adsorption capacities for NCCs. Irrespective of the studied solvents and co-presence of IND and QUI, the composite adsorbent performed ADN most effectively. This remarkable improvement is explained by the additional mechanism of hydrogen bonding between the surface functional groups of GnO and the hydrogen attached to the nitrogen atom of IND. This hydrogen bonding mechanism is also supported by the results of the adsorption of pyrrole and methylpyrrole. On the other hand, QUI does not show hydrogen-bonding capability, and therefore, its enhanced adsorption originates from only the increased porosity of the adsorbents.