Synthesis of ultra-porous zeolitic imidazolate Framework-300 under different synthesis conditions for sorption of CO2

Abstract

We examined here how different ratios of precursors, temperature, time, and synthesis environment affected the crystal structure, texture, and CO2/N2 sorption behavior of the ZIF-300 samples synthesized. We found that a higher bmim/meIm molar ratio resulted in larger particle size, increased pore volume, and higher BET surface area due to a more crystalline structure and well-shaped pore structure. This was attributed to a decrease in the pH of the synthesis solution caused by the higher bmim/meIm molar ratio, which lowered the ζ potential and reduced electrostatic repulsion between particles, leading to the formation of larger particles with a more crystalline structure. Increasing the temperature of the synthesis solution resulted in smaller particles due to a decrease in supersaturation levels and the formation of smaller nuclei. The duration of synthesis had a positive effect on particle size as both growth and aggregation of smaller particles occurred over time. NMP and DMA were found to be unsuitable synthesis environments as they produced large particles with poor gas sorption performance. In terms of texture, ZIF-300 samples synthesized with a higher bmim/meIm molar ratio and at lower temperatures exhibited higher BET surface area and pore volume compared to other samples. Additionally, samples synthesized with a molar ratio of bmim/meIm = 4/1 and 2/1 showed better selectivity for CO2/N2 solubility compared to similar cases reported in previous studies.