A Zinc(II) MOF for recognition of nitroaromatic explosive and Cr(III) ion

Facile synthesis of a three-dimensional Ln-MOF@FCNT composite for the fabrication of a symmetric supercapacitor device with ultra-high energy density: overcoming the energy storage barrier

In order to quench the thirst for efficient energy storage devices, a novel praseodymium-based state-of-the-art three-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF), {[Pr(pdc)2]Me2NH2}n (YK-1), has been synthesized by using a simple solvothermal method employing a readily available ligand. YK-1 was characterised by single-crystal XRD and crystallographic analysis. The electrochemical measurements of YK-1 show that it exhibits a specific capacitance of 363.5 F g-1 at a current density of 1.5 A g-1 with 83.8% retention after 5000 cycles. In order to enhance its electrochemical performance for practical application, two composites of YK-1 with graphene oxide (GO) and functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (FCNTs), namely YK-1@GO and YK-1@FCNT, were fabricated by employing a facile ultrasonication technique. The as-synthesized MOF and the composites were characterized by PXRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM techniques. YK-1@GO and YK-1@FCNT offer enhanced specific capacitances of 488.2 F g-1 and 730.2 F g-1 at the same current density with 93.8% and 97.7% capacity retention after 5000 cycles, respectively (at 16 A g-1). Fascinated by the outstanding results shown by YK-1@FCNT, a symmetric supercapacitor device (SSC) based on it was fabricated. The assembled SSC achieved a remarkable energy density (87.6 W h kg-1) and power density (750.2 W kg-1) at a current density of 1 A g-1, along with very good cycling stability of 91.4% even after 5000 GCD cycles. The SSC device was able to power up several LED lights and even operated a DC brushless fan for a significant amount of time. To the best of our knowledge, the assembled SSC device exhibits the highest energy density among the MOF composite-based SSCs reported so far.

A review of metal-organic framework (MOF) materials as an effective photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutants

Water plays a vital role in all aspects of life. Recently, water pollution has increased exponentially due to various organic and inorganic pollutants. Organic pollutants are hard to degrade; therefore, cost-effective and sustainable approaches are needed to degrade these pollutants. Organic dyes are the major source of organic pollutants from coloring industries. The photoactive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer an ultimate strategy for constructing photocatalysts to degrade pollutants present in wastewater. Therefore, tuning the metal ions/clusters and organic ligands for the better photocatalytic activity of MOFs is a tremendous approach for wastewater treatment. This review comprehensively reports various MOFs and their composites, especially POM-based MOF composites, for the enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous phase. A brief discussion on various theoretical aspects such as density functional theory (DFT) and machine learning (ML) related to MOF and MOF composite-based photocatalysts has been presented. Thus, this article may eventually pave the way for applying different structural features to modulate novel porous materials for enhanced photodegradation properties toward organic pollutants.

A mini review on metal-organic framework-based electrode materials for capacitive deionization

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an electrochemical method of extracting ions from solution at potentials below electrolysis. It has various applications ranging from water remediation and desalination to heavy metal removal and selective resource recovery. A CDI device applies an electrical charge across two porous electrodes to attract and remove ions without producing waste products. It is generally considered environmentally friendly and promising for sustainability, yet ion removal efficiency still falls short of more established filtration methods. Commercially available activated carbon is typically used for CDI, and its ion adsorption capacity is low at approximately 20-30 mg g-1. Recently, much interest has been in the highly porous and well-structured family of materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Most MOFs are poor conductors of electricity and cannot be directly used to make electrodes. A common workaround is to pyrolyze the MOF to convert its organic components to carbon while maintaining its underlying microstructure. However, most MOF-derived materials only retain partial microstructure after pyrolysis and cannot inherit the robust porosity of the parent MOFs. This review provides a systematic breakdown of structure-performance relationships between a MOF-derived material and its CDI performance based on recent works. This review also serves as a starting point for researchers interested in developing MOF-derived materials for CDI applications.

Antibacterial Cu or Zn-MOFs Based on the 1,3,5-Tris-(styryl)benzene Tricarboxylate

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly versatile materials. Here, two novel MOFs, branded as IEF-23 and IEF-24 and based on an antibacterial tricarboxylate linker and zinc or copper cations, and holding antibacterial properties, are presented. The materials were synthesized by the solvothermal route and fully characterized. The antibacterial activity of IEF-23 and IEF-24 was investigated against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli via the agar diffusion method. These bacteria are some of the most broadly propagated pathogens and are more prone to the development of antibacterial resistance. As such, they represent an archetype to evaluate the efficiency of novel antibacterial treatments. MOFs were active against both strains, exhibiting higher activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Thus, the potential of the developed MOFs as antibacterial agents was proved.

A bifunctionalised Pb-based MOF for iodine capture and dye removal

A 2-dimensional Pb(II) metal-organic framework, [Pb(bdc)_0.5(py-Phen)NO₃]_n (SM-3), was synthesized under solvothermal conditions using a mixed ligand approach. SM-3 was assembled using dinuclear SBUs [Pb₂(COO)₂]^2-, an oxygen donor H₂bdc = 1,4-benzene dicarboxylic acid, and nitrogen donor py-Phen = pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]-phenanthroline linkers. SM-3 was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, powder-X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, SEM, EDS, TEM, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Crystallographic studies confirmed that SM-3 displays a 2D layered structure with unique anagostic (Pb⋯H) interactions. Interestingly, the presence of abundant π-electron-rich rings embellished with free -N donor sites in the framework makes SM-3 an excellent adsorbent that exhibits adsorption performance for iodine and dyes. The experimental results show that SM-3 reversibly adsorbs radioactive iodine in the solution and vapor phases and exhibits selective adsorption performance for hazardous cationic dyes, namely, methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine-B (Rh-B), from aqueous solution. Moreover, the possible mechanism of iodine and dye adsorption was also discussed in detail. Thus, this work is remarkable for coordination chemists to engineer layered MOFs for adsorption purposes and expands their potential characteristics by converting them into 2D MOF nanosheets to further enhance the adsorption of hazardous pollutants for environment protection.

A 2D Porous Zinc-Organic Framework Platform for Loading of 5-Fluorouracil

A hydrostable 2D Zn-based MOF, {[Zn(5-PIA)(imbm)]·2H2O}n (1) (5-H2PIA = 5-propoxy-isophthalic acid, imbm = 1,4-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene), was synthesized and structurally characterized. Complex 1 shows good water and thermal stability based on the TGA and PXRD analyses and displays a 2D framework with 1D channels of 4.8 × 13.8 and 10.0 × 8.3 Å2 along the a axis. The 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) payload in activated complex 1 (complex 1a) is 19.3 wt%, and the cumulative release value of 5-FU at 120 h was about 70.04% in PBS (pH 7.4) at 310 K. In vitro MTT assays did not reveal any cytotoxic effect of NIH-3T3 and HEK-293 cells when the concentration of 1 was below 500 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL, respectively. No morphological abnormalities were observed on zebrafish exposed to complex 1.