Abstract Metal-organic frameworks UiO-66(Zr) and NH2-UiO-66(Zr) were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry (TG) and N2 adsorption–desorption measurements. The porous nature of the materials was revealed by the higher Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 1420 m2 g−1, 985 m2 g−1 and particles size of 7.56 nm, 3.56 nm for UiO-66(Zr) and NH2-UiO-66(Zr) respectively. Enhanced adsorption capacity and recyclability of the MOFs towards anthracene (ANT) and chrysene (CRY) removal in aqueous medium was achieved. 98.6 and 96.4% of ANT was removed within 25 mins, while 97.9 and 95.7% of CRY was removed within 30 mins for the UiO-66(Zr) and NH2-UiO-66(Zr) respectively. Molecular docking was employed to model the surface interactions of the synthesized MOFs with the pollutants and the simulated binding energies were in good agreement with the experimental results.