Fabrication of a MOF/Aerogel Composite via a Mild and Green One-Pot Method

• Published in: Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan Vol. 94; no. 10; pp. 2477 - 2483
• Main Authors: Li, Linlin, Bai, Xiaojue, Shao, Lei, Zhai, Xu, Fan, Fuqiang, Li, Yunong, Fu, Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo The Chemical Society of Japan 15.10.2021; Chemical Society of Japan
• Subjects: Aerogels; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Composite materials; Cycloaddition; Fragility; Metal-organic frameworks; Microreactors; Substrates; One-pot method; Carboxymethylcellulose aerogel; Metal-organic framework-based composites
• ISSN: 0009-2673; 1348-0634
• DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.20210258

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with structural diversity and functionality have attracted incredible research interest, while their practical applications are hampered due to their intrinsic fragility and powder state. Herein, a MOF/aerogel composite has been successfully fabricated through a mild and green one-pot method to anchor ZIF-L nanosheets on the carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) aerogel to overcome these difficulties. The CMC aerogel not only acts as a template to improve the processability and applicability of ZIF-L, but also offers a highly three-dimensional porous structure to facilitate the substrate adsorption on the aerogel to form a microreactor, which is conducive to the full contact between substrate and catalyst. Benefiting from the advantages, the aerogel composite as a heterogeneous catalyst shows improved catalytic activity, good cycle performance and highly efficient catalyst recovery for the cycloaddition of epoxide and CO2. This mild and simple one-pot method opens up a new strategy for the synthesis of MOF and aerogel composite material, which is potentially beneficial for further practical applications.