In the present study, the new MIL-101(Cr)/aerogel-like carbon composite with three different contents of aerogel-like carbon (ALC) has been successfully synthesized and investigated for the removal of Congo Red and Indigo Carmine dyes. The aerogel-like carbon particles were found to act as the primary nucleation sites for the formation of MIL-101(Cr)/ALC, leading to smaller crystals, increased surface area from 2814 to 3015 m2/g, and improved adsorption performance. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images showed the formation of octahedral-shaped crystals of MIL-101(Cr)/ALC. The composite (MIL-101(Cr)/ALC 3 %) showed the best performance for the elimination of Congo Red and Indigo Carmine at the optimal adsorbent dose of 1 g/L and pH = 6. Moreover, the adsorption data of both dyes have best fitted with the Langmuir adsorption model and endothermic pseudo-second-order kinetics. Notably, the synthesized MIL-101(Cr)/ALC composite adsorbent has the advantage of reusability after five cycles of pollutant desorption with an intact structure and no significant performance reduction.

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