A novel robust phosphate-functionalized metal–organic framework for deep desulfurization at wide temperature

Abstract

The need to decrease environmental pollution, reduce energy consumption and produce high-purity chemicals has become an increasingly important driving force for sulfur dioxide (SO2) capture. The efficient capture of low concentrations of SO2, a highly corrosive acid gas that is not typically present in high concentrations in industrial settings, is a major challenge. Herein, a novel phosphate-functionalized metal–organic framework, ZU-801, is designed with precisely controlled pore sizes and chemical environment to achieve excellent adsorption capacity for SO2 (1.44 mmol g−1 at 0.002 bar, 2.00 mmol g−1 at 0.01 bar) and high IAST selectivities for SO2/CO2 (145), which provides great potential for selective capture of SO2. ZU-801 shows excellent stability to air, water, SO2, strong acid and strong base solutions, and it is thermally stable up to 733 K. Additionally, ZU-801 exhibits outstanding separation ability in removing SO2 from SO2/CO2 mixtures at temperature as high as 383 K or in humid environments. This work demonstrates the potential of designing ion-functionalized ultramicroporous materials with tailored pore sizes and porous chemical environments for efficient capture and separation of SO2 and sheds light on designing stable high-performance materials that operate at high temperatures.