Facile synthesis of hierarchical porous MOFs via competition coordination strategy: A sustainable adsorbent for efficient removal of fluorine-containing drugs

Abstract

Construction of hierarchically porous structure of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) can improve the accessibility of active sites and mass transfer rate to improve practical applications effects such as adsorption efficiency. Rapid synthesis of hierarchically porous MOFs (HP-MOFs) at an industrial scale is extremely important from the perspective of sustainable development and economical practicality. Here, we propose a strategy to rapidly synthesize HP-MOFs at room temperature, using hydroxy double salts (HDS) as an intermediate to combine two ligands with different electronegativity to generate competitive coordination during the nucleation stage. Using this method, we can obtain HP-Zn-MOFs within 20 min at room temperature, with larger pores (average pore size > 8 nm) and higher space–time yield (STY > 3000 kg m−3 d−1). All the raw materials are low cost and low toxicity, which is consistent with the concept of green chemistry. More than that, the as-synthesized HP-Zn-MOFs have an excellent adsorption effect in removing fluorine-containing drugs (FCDs) through multiple interactions, showing good reusability, practical application, and good adsorption for other drugs. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the green synthesis of HP-MOFs through competition coordination methods at room temperature, which highlights the potential for the elimination of contaminants.