Low-Temperature and Additive-Free Synthesis of Spherical MIL-101(Cr) with Enhanced Dye Adsorption Performance

• Published in: Inorganics Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 33
• Main Authors: Zhao, Tian, Zhu, Hexin, Dong, Ming, Zou, Minmin, Tang, Songfan, Luo, Mingliang, Li, Xianggang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-03-2022
• Subjects: Additives; Adsorbents; Adsorption; Catalysis; Chromium; Crystals; dye adsorption; Dyes; Ethanol; High temperature; industrial application; Industrial applications; Low temperature; Metal-organic frameworks; Microscopy; Morphology; morphology control; Particle size; Porous materials; Rhodamine; spherical MIL-101(Cr); China
• ISSN: 2304-6740; 2304-6740
• DOI: 10.3390/inorganics10030033

The chromium-benzenedicarboxylate metal–organic framework (MOF), MIL-101(Cr), is one of the most well-investigated and widely used prototypical MOFs. Regarding its synthesis, the use of a toxic modulator (usually HF) and high reaction temperature (220 °C) are the main factors hindering its further expansion of production and utilization. In fact, high quality MIL-101(Cr) crystals can be prepared at a much lower temperature (160 °C) with spherical morphology via an additive-free approach. Compared to traditional octahedral MIL-101(Cr), the spherical MIL-101(Cr) possesses higher adsorption performance toward dye molecules, including methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RB). The results suggest that toxic additives and high reaction temperatures are not essential in the synthesis of MIL-101(Cr), and the fabrication of spherical MIL-101(Cr) may offer a facile and effective pathway for the large-scale industrial application of MIL-101(Cr).