Synthesis, characterization, optical, and sensing investigations for Fe-BDC doped with 10 wt.% of activated food waste biochar

Traditional methods of synthesizing nanomaterials via physical or chemical methods are typically expensive and result in toxic byproducts that adversely affect the environment. In this study, we propose synthesis, characterization, optical and sensing properties of hybrid nanocomposites consisting of Fe-1,4-benzene-dicarboxylates (Fe-BDC) as a porous metal-organic framework (MOF) doped with 10 wt. % of Biochar (BC) derived from food waste (Fe-BDC@BC). The bio-based MOF was characterized by using SEM, TGA, FTIR, and XRD. The structural investigation showed that BC improved the porosity, thermal stability, and crystallinity of Fe-BDC, resulting in a particle size of around 50 nm. Optical investigation showed that the energy gap of the bio-doped MOF decreased by about 6%. A sensitive layer of Fe-BDC@BCs was created on an ITO substrate using the spin coating method to study humidity sensing. The dynamic response of the FE-BDC@BC nanocomposite sensor to the change in humidity from 10% to 95% RH. Fe-BDC@BC demonstrated a sensitive response to humidity of about 96% and quick reaction and recovery times of 10 s and 50 s, respectively, Due to their ease of synthesis, and excellent optical and humidity-sensing response, these bio-based MOFs could be used for the fabrication of optoelectronic and sensing devices.