Synthesis Characterization and Performance Evaluation of Zn II and Fe III based Metal Organic Framework Composites for Prospective Environmental and Energy Applications

Abstract

In an era of escalating environmental pollution and rising energy demands, the dual challenge of pollution control and sustainable energy generation has become vitally important. The world today faces critical issues such as toxic industrial emissions, persistent organic pollutants, and the over-reliance on fossil fuels, all contributing to ecological imbalance and climate change. To deal with these challenges, innovative approaches in environmental remediation and the advancement of clean, renewable energy technologies by developing novel and efficient materials have emerged as a frontier area of research in recent years. The research work incorporated in this thesis focuses on the design and development of various Zn(II) and Fe(III) based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their hybrid composites to investigate their catalytic performance in (i) photodegradation of aqueous organic contaminants (dyes and antibiotics), (ii) microwave-assisted esterification of free fatty acids (eg, oleic acid) for biodiesel production, and (iii) photocarboxylation of haloarenes using CO2 as carbon source.