Highly Selective Gaseous and Liquid-Phase Separation over a Novel Cobalt(II) Metal-Organic Framework

The mild recognition sites of oxygen atoms and phenyl rings from 5-(4-pyridyl)-methoxyl isophthalic acid (5,4-PMIA^2-) moieties and tetrakis(4-pyridyloxymethylene) methane (TPOM) linkers inside the channels of a novel three-dimensional microporous metal-organic framework (MOF) [Co₂(5,4-PMIA)₂(TPOM)_0.5]· xsolvent (1) are presumed to provide pore environments with moderate contacts toward guests, as indicated by grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations, which appear to be beneficial for adsorption and separation applications. As expected, 1 represents one of the rare examples that show both high storage capacity of C₂H _n and good adsorption selectivity of C₂H _n/CH₄ and CO₂/CH₄ under ambient conditions, and yet, it has significantly lower energy consumption for regeneration. In addition, a validated submicro-1-based microsolid-phase extraction (μ-SPE) method for the determination of trace monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in complex human urine was developed with satisfactory sensitivity and good precision by online coupling to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which represents the first example of a mixed-ligand MOF applied as an efficient sorbent for μ-SPE.

Graphene-based metal and nitrogen-doped carbon composites as adsorbents for highly sensitive solid phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Herein, a graphene-based metal and nitrogen-doped carbon (GNC-Co) composite, derived from zeolite imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67)-graphene oxide composites, was successfully developed and applied as an excellent fiber coating for solid phase microextraction (SPME) with enhanced performance. The fabricated carbon has a hierarchically micro/mesoporous structure with a high specific surface area of 123 m2 g-1. The study found that pyrolytic graphene (G) has good adsorption properties for anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene, while pyrolytic ZIF-67 (NC-Co) has good adsorption properties for naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthylene and fluorene. Combined with the advantage of G and NC-Co, the synthesized composite GNC-Co enabled the integration of the unique properties of these two fascinating materials and proved to show better performance in the extraction of all polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Compared to the commercial PDMS fiber, the self-made fiber achieved GC responses about 2-9 times as high as those obtained by the commercial 30 μm PDMS fiber. Furthermore, the self-made fiber obtained low detection limits in the range of 0.01-0.74 ng L-1 and wide linearity under the optimized extraction conditions. Finally, the GNC-Co coated fiber was successfully used for the detection of PAHs in real river water samples, which proved the applicability of the method.

Moisture stable Ni-Zn MOF/g-C3N4 nanoflowers: A highly efficient adsorbent for solid-phase microextraction of PAHs

Volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and soil are associated with status in the human body. Development of simple, efficient detection method is challenging due to the coating could be attacked by the abundance of water in the direct-immersion solid-phase microextraction. The stability of coating is essential to the analysis results. In this paper, a stable Ni-Zn MOF/g-C₃N₄ (MG NFs) nanoflowers with cavity traps structure was firstly reported and acted as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) adsorbent for PAHs. Markedly enhanced moisture and acid stability of the MG NFs was obtained through the doping the hydrophobic graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) and metal ions into metal organic frameworks (MOFs). The aperture environment and ambient environment of MG NFs were changed by the doping of the Ni and the g-C₃N_4, respectively. The moisture and acid stability of MG NFs were prominently increased under the dual protection. Compared to commonly used commercial coatings, the MG NFs own large surface area, unique nanoflowers structure and numerous open metal sites on the nanosheets, which demonstrated significant extraction superiority for PAHs. The MG NFs coated fiber was used for the SPME preconcentration of PAHs and couped with GC-MS for detecting PAHs. It presented low detection limits (0.1-3.0 ng L^-1), wide linearity (0.3-5000.0 ng L^-1) and good linearity (the correlation coefficient >0.9951). The inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 3) for three replicate extractions using one fiber was 3.8%-9.1%, and 3.5%-9.2%, respectively. The fiber-to-fiber reproducibility (n = 3) was 4.2-11.8%. The coupling method was successfully applied in the analysis of real water and soil samples with satisfactory recoveries of 82.9-109.2%, 84.2-106.4%, and the corresponding RSDs were 2.4-11.3%, 3.6-10.8%, respectively. The results indicated the effectiveness of NG NFs coated fiber in further practical application.

All-in-one solid-phase microextraction: Development of a selective solid-phase microextraction fiber assembly for the simultaneous and efficient extraction of analytes with different polarities

In the present work, for the first time, an all-in-one solid-phase microextraction technique was developed for the simultaneous and efficient extraction of analytes within a vast polarity range. A novel fiber assembly composed of two different steel components each coated with different coatings (polydimethylsiloxane and polyethylene glycol) in terms of polarity by sol-gel technology was employed for the extraction of model compounds of different polarity in a single run followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Effective parameters in the extraction step and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis were optimized for all model compounds. The detection limits of the developed method for model compounds were below 0.2 ng/L. The repeatability and reproducibility of the proposed method, explained by relative standard deviation, varied between 7.22 and 9.15% and between 7.95 and 14.90 (n = 5), respectively. Results showed that, under random conditions, compared to separate extractions performed by two other differently end-coated components that had not been assembled as the final dual fiber, as two individual fibers; simultaneous, efficient and relatively selective extraction of all model compounds was obtained in a single run by the proposed all-in-one technique. Finally, the optimized procedure was applied to extraction and determination of the model compounds in spiked water samples.

Fabrication of Metal-Organic Framework MOF-177 Coatings on Stainless Steel Fibers for Head-Space Solid-Phase Microextraction of Phenols

Direct head-space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of phenols in water is usually difficult due to its polarity and solubility in aqueous matrix. Herein we report the fabrication of metal-organic framework MOF-177 coated stainless steel fiber for the HS-SPME of phenols (2-methylolphenol, 4-methylolphenol, 2,4-dimethylolphenol, 2,4-dichlorphenol, and 3-methyl-4-chlorophenol) in environmental water samples prior to the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection. Several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized in the experiment, including extraction temperature and time, the pH value and salt addition. The results indicated that the coated fiber gave low detection limits (0.015-0.043 μg L^-1) and good repeatability with the RSD ranging from 2.8% to 5.5% for phenols. The recoveries are between 84.5%-98.6% with the spiked level of 10 μg L^-1 for the real water samples. The established method may afford a kind of potential enrichment material and a reference method for the analysis of methylphenols in water samples.

Recent applications of metal-organic frameworks in sample pretreatment

Metal-organic frameworks are promising materials in diverse analytical applications especially in sample pretreatment by virtue of their diverse structure topology, tunable pore size, permanent nanoscale porosity, high surface area, and good thermostability. According to hydrostability, metal-organic frameworks are divided into moisture-sensitive and water-stable types. In the actual applications, both kinds of metal-organic frameworks are usually engineered into hybrid composites containing magnetite, silicon dioxide, graphene, or directly carbonized to metal-organic frameworks derived carbon. These metal-organic frameworks based materials show good extraction performance to environmental pollutants. This review provides a critical overview of the applications of metal-organic frameworks and their composites in sample pretreatment modes, that is, solid-phase extraction, magnetic solid-phase extraction, micro-solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, and stir bar solid extraction.

High efficiency removal of triclosan by structure-directing agent modified mesoporous MIL-53(Al)

In order to expand the potential applications of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), structure directing agents modified mesoporous MIL-53(Al) (MIL-53(Al)-1) was investigated to adsorb triclosan (TCS) with two different initial concentrations. MIL-53(Al)-1 with high mesoporosity and total pore volume exhibited higher adsorption capacity and 4.4 times faster adsorption of TCS at low concentration (1 mg L^-1) than that of microporous MIL-53(Al). Also, mesoporous as well as microporous MIL-53(Al) showed significant higher adsorption capacity and two orders of magnitude greater fast uptake of TCS than two kinds of mesoporous-activated carbon. The adsorption of TCS onto MIL-53(Al)-1 released more energy and had higher disorderliness than TCS on MIL-53(Al). The superior adsorption characteristics of MIL-53(Al)-1 were preserved over a wide pH range (4-9), at high concentration of ionic strengths, and in the presence of coexisting compounds (anions, cations, phenol, aniline, and humic acid). The selectivity adsorption and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra revealed that TCS adsorption on MIL-53(Al)s was mainly driven by hydrophobicity interaction assisted with hydrogen bonding on MIL-53(Al)s. MIL-53(Al)s can be effectively regenerated several times by washing with 90% methanol-water (pH 11). All of the above results demonstrated MIL-53(Al)s are promising adsorbents for water purification. Graphical abstract.

Metal-Organic Framework-Polymer Composite as a Highly Efficient Sorbent for Sulfonamide Adsorption and Desorption: Effect of Coordinatively Unsaturated Metal Site and Topology

In this study, we first demonstrated the effect of two types of metal-organic framework-polymer (MOF-polymer) monoliths on in-tube solid-phase microextraction (IT-SPME) of sulfonamides. Sulfonamides were successfully adsorbed onto MIL-101(Cr)-polymer but were difficult to elute due to these sulfonamides could interact via Lewis acid-base interaction with the presence of Cr(III) coordinatively unsaturated metal sites (CUS). Moreover, the cage-type topology of MIL-101(Cr) that could produce multiple pathways thus complicates the desorption of the test analytes from the sorbent. Contrastingly, MIL-53(Al)-polymer provided weaker Al(III) CUS, and its one-dimensional channel pore structure could provide an unhindered pathway for sulfonamides transfer during elution. After optimizing the IT-SPME condition such as MOF content, pH of sample matrix, column length, extraction flow rate, and elution volume, the calculated extraction recovery of sulfonamides in MIL-53(Al)-polymer as analyzed by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) were in the range of 40%-90% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 5% and a reusability of at least 30 times.

Field study on the uptake, accumulation, translocation and risk assessment of PAHs in a soil-wheat system with amendments of sewage sludge

Field experiments were conducted to explore the uptake and translocation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by wheat plants following sewage sludge application. Two types of application methods (single or annual application) and four application rates (5, 10, 20, and 40t/ha/year) were investigated. The contents of 16 PAHs in soils, wheat roots and straws increased as the rate of sewage sludge application increased and were in the range of 20.7 to 241, 166 to 700, and 110 to 260ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. Meanwhile, for the PAH contents in grains (81.2-95.2ng/g dw), no statistically significant differences were observed among different treatments. A single application of a large quantity of sewage sludge would likely increase the accumulation of PAHs in soil as well as their subsequent uptake and translocation by wheat. Profile analysis indicated that the transfer and accumulation of lower weight PAHs in wheat plants were greater. Regarding PAHs, sewage sludge application at 40t/ha/year for 6years did not significantly increase the risks of intake by wheat grain grown on sludge-amended soils.

Polydopamine-reinforced magnetization of zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-7 for magnetic solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the air-water environment

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) consist of metal nodes connected to imidazolate linkers, having both the properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and inorganic zeolites, such as controllable pore sizes, high porosity and surface areas, as well as exceptional thermal and chemical stability, thereby making them a class of attractive materials for diverse analytical applications. In this study, we reported a facile magnetization process of ZIF-7 (zinc benzimidazolate) for simultaneous magnetic extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by simply mixing ZIF-7 and polydopamine (PDA)-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (PDA@Fe3O4) in solutions. Functional groups (-OH and -NH2), provided by PDA as a highly efficient molecular linker, could attract and anchor ZIF-7 through noncovalent adsorption and covalent cross-link interactions, thereby promoting the complete magnetization of ZIFs and enhancing their stability and reusability. The bridging ligand benzimidazolate, could be bonded with PAHs because of its high surface area, large pores, accessible coordinative unsaturated sites (π-complexation), and π-π stacking action. This ZIF-based magnetic solid-phase extraction (SPE), coupled with gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS), was further evaluated for analysis of PAHs from rainwater and air samples of particulate matter less than 2.5μm in diameter (PM2.5). The main effective parameters, including ionic strength, solution pH, extraction time, desorption solvent and desorption time, were investigated, respectively. Under optimized conditions, the developed method based on Fe3O4@PDA/ZIF-7 gave detection limits of 0.71-5.79ng/L, and quantification limits of 2.50-19.2ng/L for PAHs, respectively. The relative standard deviations for intra-day and inter-day analyses were in the range of 3.1-9.1% and 6.1-12.7%, respectively. The PAHs founded in PM2.5 were in the range of 0.40-6.79ng/m(3). Good recoveries (>82%) with low relative standard deviations (≤9.2%) were achieved. This method was demonstrated to be an accurate, convenient and sensitive pretreatment procedure for trace analysis of environmental water and air samples.

Covalent Bonding of Metal-Organic Framework-5/Graphene Oxide Hybrid Composite to Stainless Steel Fiber for Solid-Phase Microextraction of Triazole Fungicides from Fruit and Vegetable Samples

A hybrid material of the zinc-based metal-organic framework-5 and graphene oxide (metal-organic framework-5/graphene oxide) was prepared as a novel fiber coating material for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The SPME fibers were fabricated by covalent bonding via chemical cross-linking between the coating material metal-organic framework-5/graphene oxide and stainless steel wire. The prepared fiber was used for the extraction of five triazole fungicides from fruit and vegetable samples. Gas chromatography coupled with microelectron capture detector (GC-μECD) was used for quantification. The developed method gave a low limit of detection (0.05-1.58 ng g(-1)) and good linearity (0.17-100 ng g(-1)) for the determination of the triazole fungicides in fruit and vegetable samples. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for five replicate extractions of the triazole fungicides ranged from 3.7 to 8.9%. The method recoveries for spiked fungicides (5, 20, and 50 ng g(-1)) in grape, apple, cucumber, celery cabbage, pear, cabbage, and tomato samples were in the range of 85.6-105.8% with the RSDs ranging from 3.6 to 11.4%, respectively, depending on both the analytes and samples. The metal-organic framework-5/graphene oxide coated fiber was stable enough for 120 extraction cycles without a significant loss of extraction efficiency. The method was suitable for the determination of triazole fungicides in fruit and vegetable samples.

Zirconium (IV)-based metal organic framework (UIO-67) as efficient sorbent in dispersive solid phase extraction of plant growth regulator from fruits coupled with HPLC fluorescence detection

A stable zirconium (Ⅳ)-based metal organic frameworks (UIO-67) material possessing good chemical, thermal and water stability was synthesized and applied as a sorbent for the dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE) of 8 plant growth regulators (PGRs) in fruit samples. Fluorescence labeling combined with high performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), was used to quantify the target analytes. Characterization of the UIO-67 material was performed by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental parameters, such as amount of UIO-67, type and volume of eluting solvent, adsorption and desorption time, were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity was observed in the range of 10-1000 pmol/mL with R(2)>0.9989. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were in the range of 0.21-0.57ng/mL and 0.81-1.91ng/mL, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (based on the relative standard deviation, n=3) of the PGR derivatives were under 3.1% and 5.3% respectively and the accuracies of the method for the PGRs were in the range from 89.3% to 102.3%. The developed method was successfully applied to analyze PGRs residues in fruit samples. The proposed method is proved to be simple, environment-friendly and inexpensive and it is feasible to directly use UIO-67 as sorbent to extract targets by varying conditions.

Modeling the adsorption of PAH mixture in silica nanopores by molecular dynamic simulation combined with machine learning

The persistence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soils is largely controlled by their molecular fate in soil pores. The adsorption and diffusion of 16 PAHs mixture in silica nanopore with diameter of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 nm, respectively, were characterized by adsorption energy, mean square displacement, free surface area and free volume fraction using molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. Results suggested that PAHs adsorption in silica nanopores was associated with diffusion process while competitive sorption was not the dominant mechanism in context of this study. The partial least squares (PLS) regression and machine learning (ML) methods (i.e. support vector regression, M5 decision tree and multilayer perceptrons) were used to correlate the adsorption energy with the pore diameter and PAH properties (number of carbon atoms, aromatic ring number, boiling point, molecular weight, octanol-water partition coefficient, octanol-organic carbon partition coefficient, solvent accessible area, solvent accessible volume and polarization). Results indicated that the PAH adsorption could not be predicted by linear regression as the R(2)Y and Q(2)Y coefficients of PLS analysis was 0.375 and 0.199, respectively. The nonlinearity was well recognized by ML with correlation coefficient up to 0.9. Overall, the combination of MD simulation and ML approaches can assist in interpreting the sequestration of organic contaminants in the soil nanopores.

In situ solvothermal synthesis of metal-organic framework coated fiber for highly sensitive solid-phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The present work reported a facile and simple in situ solvothermal growth method for immobilization of metal-organic framework UiO-66 via covalent bonding on amino functional silica fiber for highly sensitive solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by coupling with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The developed SPME coated fiber has been characterized through SEM, TGA and XRD, confirmed the coating thickness of ∼25μm with high thermal and chemical stability. Under optimized conditions, the obtained method exhibited satisfactory linearity in range of 1.0-5000.0ngL(-1) for all the PAHs. The low detection limits were from 0.28ngL(-1) to 0.60ngL(-1) (S/N=3). The UiO-66 coated fibers showed good repeatability (RSDs less than 8.2%, n=5) and satisfying reproducibility between fiber to fiber (RSDs less than 8.9%, n=5). This method was successfully used for simultaneous determination of ten PAHs from Minjiang water and soil samples with satisfactory recoveries of 87.0-113.6% and 83.8-116.7%, respectively. Experimental results shows that the chemical bonding approach has dramatically improve the stability and lifetime of pure MOFs coating for SPME in sample pretreatment.

Zeolitic imidazole framework templated synthesis of nanoporous carbon as a novel fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction

A novel ZIF templated nanoporous carbon was prepared as the SPME fiber coating for the extraction of organochlorine pesticides from vegetable samples.

In situ hydrothermal growth of a dual-ligand metal–organic framework film on a stainless steel fiber for solid-phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples

In situ hydrothermal growth of bio-MOF-1 film on stainless steel fiber for solid-phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.