Metal-Organic Frameworks Decorated Cu2O Heterogeneous Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Styrene

Anodic Electrodepositing Bioinspired Cu-BDC-NH2@Graphene Oxide Membrane for Efficient Uranium Extraction

The challenge of removing trace levels of heavy metal ions, particularly uranium, from wastewater is a critical concern in environmental management. Uranium, a key element in long-term nuclear power generation, often poses significant extraction difficulties in wastewater due to its low concentration, interference from other ions, and the complexity of aquatic ecosystems. This study introduces an anodic electrodeposited hierarchical porous 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) Cu-BDC-NH2@graphene oxide (GO) membrane for effective uranium extraction by mimicking the function of the superb-uranyl-binding protein. This membrane is characterized by its hierarchical pillared-layer structures resulting from the controlled orientation of Cu-BDC-NH2 MOFs within the laminated GO layers during the electrodeposition process. The integration of amino groups from 2D Cu-BDC-NH2 and carboxylate groups from GO enables a high affinity to uranyl ions, achieving an unprecedented uranium adsorption capacity of 1078.4 mg/g and outstanding selectivity. Our findings not only demonstrate a breakthrough in uranium extraction technology but also pave the way for advancements in water purification and sustainable energy development, proposing a practical and efficient strategy for creating orientation-tunable 2D MOFs@GO membranes tailored for high-efficiency uranium extraction.

In Situ Design of a Nanostructured Interface between NiMo and CuO Derived from Metal-Organic Framework for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Solutions

Hydrogen shows great promise as a carbon-neutral energy carrier that can significantly mitigate global energy challenges, offering a sustainable solution. Exploring catalysts that are highly efficient, cost-effective, and stable for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) holds crucial importance. For this, metal-organic framework (MOF) materials have demonstrated extensive applicability as either a heterogeneous catalyst or catalyst precursor. Herein, a nanostructured interface between NiMo/CuO@C derived from Cu-MOF was designed and developed on nickel foam (NF) as a competent HER electrocatalyst in alkaline media. The catalyst exhibited a low overpotential of 85 mV at 10 mA cm-2 that rivals that of Pt/C (83 mV @ 10 mA cm-2). Moreover, the catalyst's durability was measured through chronopotentiometry at a constant current density of -30, -100, and -200 mA cm-2 for 50 h each in 1.0 M KOH. Such enhanced electrocatalytic performance could be ascribed to the presence of highly conductive C and Cu species, the facilitated electron transfer between the components because of the nanostructured interface, and abundant active sites as a result of multiple oxidation states. The existence of an ionized oxygen vacancy (Ov) signal was confirmed in all heat-treated samples through electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis. This revelation sheds light on the entrapment of electrons in various environments, primarily associated with the underlying defect structures, particularly vacancies. These trapped electrons play a crucial role in augmenting electron conductivity, thereby contributing to an elevated HER performance.

Synthesis of Metal–Organic Frameworks Quantum Dots Composites as Sensors for Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

Hazardous chemical compounds such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are widespread and part of the materials we use daily. Among these compounds, bisphenol A (BPA) is the most common endocrine-disrupting chemical and is prevalent due to the chemical raw materials used to manufacture thermoplastic polymers, rigid foams, and industrial coatings. General exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals constitutes a serious health hazard, especially to reproductive systems, and can lead to transgenerational diseases in adults due to exposure to these chemicals over several years. Thus, it is necessary to develop sensors for early detection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In recent years, the use of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as sensors for EDCs has been explored due to their distinctive characteristics, such as wide surface area, outstanding chemical fastness, structural tuneability, gas storage, molecular separation, proton conductivity, and catalyst activity, among others which can be modified to sense hazardous environmental pollutants such as EDCs. In order to improve the versatility of MOFs as sensors, semiconductor quantum dots have been introduced into the MOF pores to form metal–organic frameworks/quantum dots composites. These composites possess a large optical absorption coefficient, low toxicity, direct bandgap, formidable sensing capacity, high resistance to change under light and tunable visual qualities by varying the size and compositions, which make them useful for applications as sensors for probing of dangerous and risky environmental contaminants such as EDCs and more. In this review, we explore various synthetic strategies of (MOFs), quantum dots (QDs), and metal–organic framework quantum dots composites (MOFs@QDs) as efficient compounds for the sensing of ecological pollutants, contaminants, and toxicants such as EDCs. We also summarize various compounds or materials used in the detection of BPA as well as the sensing ability and capability of MOFs, QDs, and MOFs@QDs composites that can be used as sensors for EDCs and BPA.