Flexible nanofibrous membranes of dual metallic metal–organic framework with enhanced Lewis basic sites and high loading mass for efficient CO2 capture

Abstract

Excessive CO2 emissions and the resultant global warming present significant environmental challenges, posing threats to human health and public safety. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), known for their high specific area and large porosity, hold the promise for CO2 capture. However, a major obstacle is the low loading mass of MOFs and the limited interface affinity and compatibility between MOFs and substrates. In this study, we present an electrospinning-assisted in-situ synthesis dual metallic framework strategy for preparing flexible Zn/Co-ZIF nanofibrous membranes (NFMs). This method achieves the high loading mass of MOFs and introduces abundant Lewis basic sites, thereby enhancing the CO2 adsorption. The dual metallic Zn/Co-ZIF NFMs exhibit remarkable features, including high MOF loading mass (70.23 wt%), high specific surface area (379.63 m2g−1), large porosity (92.34 %), high CO2 adsorption capacity (4.43 mmol/g), high CO2/N2 adsorption selectivity (37), and high CO2/CH4 adsorption selectivity (31). Moreover, the dual metallic Zn/Co-ZIF NFMs demonstrate robust structural stability and durability attributed to the excellent interface affinity between MOFs and NFMs, retaining 96.56 % of their initial capacity after 10 adsorption–desorption cycles. This work presents a prospective direction for developing flexible dual metallic MOF NFMs for the efficient capture of CO2.