Temperature-controlled activation and characterization of iron-based metal-organic frameworks

Abstract

Activation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is essential for the removal of coordinating and pore-filling solvents before MOFs can be employed for various applications. Here, we report the facile temperature-controlled activation of the challenging iron-based metal-organic frameworks consisting of MIL-88B, MIL-100 and MIL-101 structures. The synthesis of the MOF materials was carried using a modified solvothermal synthesis approach, while the activation was done by heating under vacuum at different temperatures. The activated MOF materials were then characterized using PXRD, BET, SEM, TGA, and FTIR. We observed that the activation temperature below the decomposition temperature of the frameworks did not have a significant impact on the MOFs’ crystallinity but influenced their surface morphology and textural properties to a large extent.