Porous ZIF-8 Research Articles

Preparation of Hierarchical Porous ZIF-67 and Its Application in Zinc Battery Separator

This study successfully prepared a hierarchically porous ZIF-67 (H-ZIF-67) by incorporating the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at room temperature. Compared to standard control ZIF-67 (C-ZIF-67) with a yield of 81% and a BET specific surface area of 1228 m2·g−1, the H-ZIF-67 not only exhibited improved crystallinity and pore structure but also achieved a yield of up to 93% and a BET specific surface area of 1457 m2·g−1. Due to its hierarchically porous structure, H-ZIF-67 demonstrated excellent adsorption capacity and efficiency for methylene orange (MO). Additionally, the composite separator created by combining H-ZIF-67 with nanocellulose (CNF) exhibited remarkable uniformity and dispersion in zinc batteries. In comparison to a conventional CNF separator, the porous structure and high specific surface area of H-ZIF-67 significantly enhanced its electrolyte wettability and Zn2+ transport rates. Its abundant Lewis acid sites effectively promoted the uniform deposition of Zn2+, thereby suppressing the formation of zinc dendrites and improving the cycling and safety performance of zinc-ion batteries. Experimental results indicate that the ion conductivity of the membrane was 4.31 mS·cm−1, the electrolyte absorption rate was 316%, and it could cycle stable for over 4000 h at a current density of 1 mA·cm−2 with a discharge capacity of 1 mAh·cm−2. This achievement will open up new avenues for the preparation and application of ZIF-67 composite separators in aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Highly porous ZIF-67/KLAC composite for enhanced supercapacitor performance with redox additive electrolyte

To enhance the efficiency of supercapacitors, the selection of appropriate electrode materials as well as electrolytes is essential. Highly porous materials have gained attention as electrode material while Redox Additive Electrolytes (RAE) have gained popularity as effective alternatives to traditional aqueous electrolytes. The present study discusses the fabrication of a highly porous Co-MOF (ZIF-67) grown on Keekar leaves-derived activated carbon (KLAC) to develop a suitable composite using a simple and inexpensive approach. The grown ZIF-67 material shows a polyhedron kind of morphology over the surface of KLAC with an overall surface area of 1012 m2/g. The synthesized material was evaluated for a three-electrode configuration in a 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte and 0.2 M K3[Fe(CN)6] in 1 M Na2SO4 (RAE). The ZIF-67/KLAC composite exhibits a high capacitance of 2880 F/g when electrochemically tested within RAE, at a specific current of 5 A/g as compared to 33.11 F/g when tested in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte, over a potential range of −0.1–0.5 V. Also, the cyclic stability in RAE is found to be superior (∼100 %) as compared to 1 M Na2SO4 (∼95.30 %) after continuous 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The lower resistance in RAE allows for faster ionic and electronic transmission, resulting in superior cyclic stability. Due to the excellent electrochemical outcomes, the suggested synergic of ZIF-67/KLAC/RAE may work as a highly effective supercapacitor assembly in the future.

Multifunctional and Hierarchical Porous ZIF-8: Amine and Thiol Tagged via Mixed Multivariate Ligand Strategies for Enhanced CO2 and Iodine Adsorption.

This study demonstrated a simple and innovative way of using the direct de novo synthesis to fabricate the mesoporous structure and diverse functionality of ZIF-8 for environmental cleanup and gas storage applications. By introducing different ligands, we have developed a version of ZIF-8 that could better capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and iodine. The ZIF-8 was successfully designed to have the hierarchical and mesoporous structure with the functional groups of amine and thiol groups by adjusting the pKa values (from 8 to 12) of ligand instead of original ligand, 2-methyl imidazole (Hmim, pKa~14.2). The modulation of ZIF-8 particle size, porosity, and functional characteristics was achieved through varied ligands and their concentrations, streamlined into a single and room-temperature synthesis condition. The resulting ZIF-8 materials exhibit intricate hierarchical architectures and a high density of functional groups, significantly enhancing molecular diffusion and accessibility. Among the developed materials, ZIF-8-AS, featuring both amine and thiol groups, demonstrates the fastest adsorption kinetics and a twofold increase in iodine adsorption capacity (qm = 1101.5 mg·g-1) compared to ZIF-8 (qm = 514.3 mg·g-1). Furthermore, the hierarchical mesoporosity of ZIF-8-A-10.1 improves CO2 adsorption to 1.0 mmol·g-1 at 298 K, which is 1.3 times higher than that of the microporous ZIF-8.

Photoelectrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Formate Using a BiVO4/ZIF-8 Heterojunction.

Converting CO2 into high-value chemical fuels through green photoelectrocatalytic reaction path is considered as a potential strategy to solve energy and environmental problems. In this work, BiVO4/ZIF-8 heterojunctions are prepared by in-situ synthesis of ZIF-8 nanocrystals with unique pore structure on the surface of BiVO4. The experimental results show that the silkworm pupa-like BiVO4 is successfully combined with porous ZIF-8, and the introduction of ZIF-8 can provide more sites for CO2 capture. The optimal composite ratio of 4 : 1-BiVO4/ZIF-8 exhibits excellent CO2 reduction activity and the lowest electrochemical transport resistance. In the electrocatalytic system, the formate Faraday efficiency of 4 : 1-BiVO4/ZIF-8 at -1.0 V vs. RHE is 82.60 %. Furthermore, in the photoelectrocatalytic system, the Faraday efficiency increases to 91.24 % at -0.9 V vs. RHE, which is 10.8 times higher than the pristine BiVO4. The results show that photoelectric synergism can not only reduce energy consumption, but also improve the Faraday efficiency of formate. In addition, the current density did not decrease during 34 h electrolysis, showing long-term stability. This work highlights the importance of the construction of heterojunction to improve the performance of photoelectrocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Functional Ginger-Derived Extracellular Vesicles-Coated ZIF-8 Containing TNF-α siRNA for Ulcerative Colitis Therapy by Modulating Gut Microbiota.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays a causal role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC), and anti-TNF-α siRNA shows great promise in UC therapy. However, delivering siRNA with site-targeted stability and therapeutic efficacy is still challenging due to the complex and dynamic intestinal microenvironment. Here, based on the functional plant-derived ginger extracellular vesicles (EVs) and porous ZIF-8 nanoparticles, we propose a novel TNF-α siRNA delivery strategy (EVs@ZIF-8@siRNA) for UC targeted therapy. Ginger EVs show strong colon and macrophage targeting, as well as robust resistance to acidic degradation in the stomach. Moreover, 6-shogaol in ginger-derived EVs displays anti-inflammatory effects, which enhance the treatment efficiency by cooperation with TNF-α siRNA. In vitro experiments reveal that ZIF-8 nanoparticles have high TNF-α siRNA loading capacity and promote siRNA escape from cellular lysosomes. In vivo experiments show that the TNF-α level is reduced more significantly in colonic tissue than other nontargeted inflammation related factors, showing a good targeting of this composite nanoparticle. Furthermore, gut microbiota sequencing results demonstrate that the nanoparticles can promote intestinal barrier repair by regulating the intestinal microbial balance and restoring the intestinal health of UC mice. Therefore, the developed EVs@ZIF-8@siRNA nanoparticles may represent a novel colon-targeted oral drug, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for UC therapy.

Carbon Decorated MOF for Low-Cost Aqueous Al-Ion Supercapacitors: Effect of Redox Additives

The performance enhancement of ZIF-67 based Al-ion supercapacitors using conductive additives is presented. By using the simple co-precipitation technique, the porous ZIF-67 and composites of ZIF-67 with two distinct forms of carbon rGO and CNS were synthesized. Physiochemical characterizations like XRD, BET, FTIR, etc., were performed to confirm the successful synthesis of ZIF-67 and its composites. The electrochemical measurements were performed in the three-electrode configuration using 0.5 M AlCl3 electrolyte. Out of all, the composite of ZIF-67 with rGO (ZIF-67_rGO) outperformed all other materials because of its larger specific surface area and enhanced electrical conductivity. Further, the electrolyte modification was performed in 6 mM KFCN as a redox additive for ZIF-67_rGO composite. Here, the specific capacitance of ZIF-67_rGO composite enhanced from 245 F g-1 to 346 Fg-1 at 1 A g−1 current density. Using the redox additive, we observe an increment of almost 41% in ZIF-67_rGO composite than its pristine counterpart. The composite also delivered good cycling stability with excellent coulombic efficiency of 89% and 95% after 1000 cycles, at 5 A g-1 current density, respectively.

Green Synthesis of MOF-Based Materials for Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide.

Porous ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 were synthesized via a green steam-assisted dry-gel technique and investigated as potential catalysts for CO2 electroreduction. The synthesis conditions are found to significantly influence the growth of these metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Notably, the water content employed during synthesis plays a crucial role in shaping the morphological properties of ZIF-8. Specifically, a moderate water content results in the formation of uniform ZIF-8 with a size distribution ranging from 240-440 nm. During CO2 electroreduction, these morphological properties exert substantial effects on the selectivity for CO formation, thereby facilitating the production of syngas with adjustable CO: H2 ratios. This feature holds promise for the widespread adoption of syngas as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, offering potential benefits for electricity generation and liquid fuel production. Despite sharing similar structural properties with ZIF-8, ZIF-67 exhibits distinct performance characterized by its limited selectivity for CO2 electroreduction. This discrepancy is attributed to the different metal centers of the two MOFs, resulting in the distinct activation of CO2 and H2O molecules and their further reduction. This finding highlights the critical role of metal centers in MOF-based materials for electrocatalysis application.

ZIF-8 nanoparticles densely covered MXene as functionalized platform for electrochemical detection of medical small molecules

The high-performance electrochemical detection relies on sensing material with highly active structure, which requires the development of advanced synthesis technique and the study of its structure-activity mechanism. Herein, the few-layer Ti3C2Tx nanosheets densely coated zeolitic imidazole framework-8 nanoparticles (Ti3C2Tx@ZIF-8) have been successfully prepared as a unique precursor, which combines the structural advantages of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx and porous ZIF-8 nanoparticles, leading to the vast interior spaces for loading electrocatalytic nanomaterials. For this purpose, Ti3C2Tx@Au nanoparticles-ZnO nanoparticles@N-doped carbon (Ti3C2Tx@AuNPs-ZnO@NC) has been obtained for the simultaneous electrochemical detection of pharmaceutical molecules including dopamine (DA), acetaminophen (AC), and xanthine (XA). The materials characterization and sensing analysis results of Ti3C2Tx@AuNPs-ZnO@NC reveal the structure-activity relationship of Ti3C2Tx, AuNPs and NC resulting in the high-performance behaviors, which can be summed up as stable electrochemical active sites and efficient electron transport channels. First, the abundant anchor points are offered by NC for immobilizing AuNPs, which ensure the electrochemical activity of such material. Second, the close combination of few-layer Ti3C2Tx nanosheets and NC provides an ideal channel for electron transmission along with the electrochemical reaction process. The potential application of Ti3C2Tx@AuNPs-ZnO@NC is displayed to develop the electrochemical medical sensor. The detection limits are 41 nM towards DA, 59 nM towards AC, and 67 nM towards XA. The linear ranges are 3–200 μM for DA, 15–500 μM for AC, and 8–350 μM for XA.

Novel flexible chemiresistive ammonia sensors based on rGO/ZIF-8 composites deposited on conductive graphite sheets

This work presents novel investigations on room temperature chemiresistive ammonia (NH3) gas sensing capability of composite materials based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and ZIF-8 metal organic framework (MOF), deposited on flexible graphite substrate. These rGO/ZIF-8 composites synthesized via a facile one-pot wet chemical route were found to exhibit a fast, highly sensitive and reversible response over successive exposure cycles towards various concentrations of NH3. The enhanced response is attributable to the synergistic performance of the appreciably conductive rGO and the highly porous ZIF-8. ZIF-8 with its high specific surface area, microporous structure and hydrophobicity, serves to provide greater gas adsorptive capacity as well as resistance to effects of ambient moisture. rGO, on the other hand, has limited specific surface area due to π-π restacking of its sheets but it is capable of providing a conductive template to the hybrid material. Consequently, the NH3 gas sensing performance parameters of rGO/ZIF-8 were measured to be exceedingly better than those of bare rGO and ZIF-8 synthesized separately. A response of 15.98 % was recorded towards 10 ppm NH3 with response/recovery times as 2.8/6 s for the rGO/ZIF-8 composites. The enhanced gas sensing performance is credited to the formation of hierarchical pore structure which allows for greater adsorption at the micropore sites and faster diffusion through the mesopores. The effect of rGO loading in the hybrid materials was also assessed. The composite materials exhibited appreciable stability with respect to ambient aging. The adsorption behaviors and the resultant gas sensing mechanisms have also been discussed for the investigated materials.

Encapsulating Fe3O4 Nanoparticles and Carbon Dots in a Metal-Organic Framework for Magnetic Fluorescent Taggants.

Magnetic fluorescent composite nanomaterials have broad application prospects in the fields of biological imaging, anticounterfeiting identification, suspicious object tracking, and identification of latent fingerprints in forensic medicine. For an effective taggant, a clearly visible identifying mark is necessary to enable observers to capture labeling information quickly and accurately, even from a distance. The preparation method of magnetic fluorescent composite materials is complicated and usually needs different surface modification and assembly processes. The limited loading capacity of fluorescent materials also limits the fluorescence properties of the composite, so it is difficult to produce obvious fluorescence as a taggant to meet the requirements of visible labeling. In this study, a core-shell structure of a magnetic fluorescent composite was prepared by using the metal-organic framework ZIF-8 as the host of fluorescent materials and an encapsulation shell coated on the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The porous ZIF-8 is beneficial for increasing the loading capacity of fluorescent materials to ensure the fluorescence performance of the composite materials. Further modification of the composite surface prevented the desorption of fluorescent materials from the pores of ZIF-8, enabling the samples to maintain good fluorescence properties even after multiple washing cycles. The preparation method is simple, rapid, and cost-effective, and the prepared magnetic fluorescent composite nanomaterial has high magnetic separation performance and fluorescence performance, making it a promising material for identification, marking, and tracking.

Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Porous ZIF-8/GO Composite with Enhanced Adsorption Capacity for Malachite Green Removal

Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Porous ZIF-8/GO Composite with Enhanced Adsorption Capacity for Malachite Green Removal

Pt-Embedded Metal–Organic Frameworks Deriving Pt/ZnO-In2O3 Electrospun Hollow Nanofibers for Enhanced Formaldehyde Gas Sensing

Functionalization by noble metal catalysts and the construction of heterojunctions are two effective methods to enhance the gas sensing performance of metal oxide-based sensors. In this work, we adopt the porous ZIF-8 as a catalyst substrate to encapsulate the ultra-small Pt nanoparticles. The Pt/ZnO-In2O3 hollow nanofibers derived from Pt/ZIF-8 were prepared by a facile electrospinning method. The 25PtZI HNFs sensor possessed a response value of 48.3 to 100 ppm HCHO, 2.7 times higher than the pristine In2O3, along with rapid response/recovery time (5/22 s), and lower theoretical detection limit (74.6 ppb). The improved sensing properties can be attributed to the synergistic effects of electron sensitization effects and catalytic effects of Pt nanoparticles, and the high surface O− absorbing capability of heterojunctions. The present study paves a new way to design high performance formaldehyde gas sensors in practical application.

Novel ethane recovery process from natural gas using ZIF-8/water–glycol slurry: Techno-economic and energy consumption evaluation

Ethane recovery is a vital step in natural gas processing and can provide raw material for ethylene production. The widely used cryogenic separation process is energy intensive, and the absorption-adsorption coupling process based on porous ZIF-8 slurry (SorbPro I) has been proven to be more energy-efficient. To further reduce energy consumption, this paper proposes a novel process with two absorption-adsorption columns (SorbPro II) and establishes its mathematical model by equilibrium stage method. Taking the natural gas with an ethane content of 6.19 mol% at 300,000 Nm3/d as a case study, the operating parameters of SorbPro I and SorbPro II are optimized by sensitivity analysis, and ethane recovery ratio of both processes can reach 90 %. The techno-economic/energy consumption evaluations of the two processes are conducted. Results show that the total annualized cost and the energy consumption per Nm3 feed gas of SorbPro II are 41.7 % and 47.7 % lower than those of SorbPro I, respectively. It indicates that SorbPro II has the same separation performance as SorbPro I, but is more economical.

CoO/MoO3@Nitrogen-Doped carbon hollow heterostructures for efficient polysulfide immobilization and enhanced ion transport in Lithium-Sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have emerged as a promising energy storage system, but their practical application is hindered by the polysulfide shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics. To address these challenges, we have developed CoO/MoO3@nitrogen-doped carbon (CoO/MoO3@NC) hollow heterostructures based on porous ZIF-67 as separators in LSBs. CoO has a strong anchoring effect on polysulfides. The heterostructure formed after the introduction of MoO3 increases the adsorption of polysulfides. The carbon coating outside the heterostructure improves the ion transmission efficiency of the battery, leading to enhanced electrochemical performance. The modified LSB demonstrates a low-capacity decay rate of 0.092% over 500 cycles at 0.5C, with a high discharge capacity of 613 mAh g−1 at 1C. This work presents a novel approach for the preparation of hollow heterostructure materials, aiming for high-performance LSBs.

Synergistic photoinduced charge transfer resonance from porous ZIF-67 decorated violet phosphorus array for SERS immunoassay of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

As a rapid, highly sensitive, and user-friendly technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has an extraordinary appeal to home self-test of COVID-19 during the post pandemic era. However, most of the existing SERS substrates have been still criticized in stability, repeatability, and sample enrichment. To address these obstacles, a novel non-metallic SERS substrate with porous surfaces and array geometry was developed by in-situ growing ZIF-67 particles on two-dimensional violet phosphorus (VP) matrix. Chemical enhancement was prominently promoted by the synergistic photoinduced charge transfer resonance in the hybrid band structure of the ZIF-67@VP substrate, facilitating a noble metal-similar enhancement factor of 6.11 × 107. The biocompatible ZIF-67@VP porous array with attractive enhancement capability and high anchoring efficiency was further utilized to monitoring SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in practical saliva samples based on a sandwich immunostructure, achieving a limit of detection of 1.7 ng/mL assisted by black phosphorus nanosheets. This nonmetallic immunoassay strategy with exceptional sensitivity and specificity is predicted to extend the utilization of SERS obstacle in daily infectious disease screening.

Enhancing contaminant rejection efficiency with ZIF-8 molecular sieving in sustainable mixed matrix membranes

Compared to pure polymer membranes and inorganic membranes, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) loaded with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit higher permeability and selectivity. Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) is widely regarded as the most promising candidate for separation membrane materials due to its precise molecular sieving properties. However, there is an urgent need for scalable fabrication methods to produce flexible and sustainable MOF MMMs, which is largely unmet. Here, we report a non-solvent induced phase separation-spin coating (NIPS-SC) strategy for the preparation of highly permeable MOF MMMs. A porous support layer is formed by non-solvent induced phase separation of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Chitosan (CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and ZIF-8 are then coated on the PVDF support layer to synthesize the symbiotic and continuous MMM membrane. The synthesized membrane shows excellent separation performance for organic dye and heavy metal ions, as well as significant stability. The water permeate flux of the membrane is 342 L m–2 h−1 bar−1. The micron-scale in the support layer facilitates rapid water permeation, while the porous ZIF-8 provides enhanced solute rejection selectivity. This strategy paves the way for the development of high-performance membranes for water purification.

A convenient, economical and excellent-yield method for the preparations of zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and the applications in environmental purification

Zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a class of highly concerned metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with zeolite like structures. In this study, a convenient, economical and excellent-yield method for ZIFs preparation was built under the chemical principle exploration of ZIFs formation. By loading stoichiometric metal salts and ligands, four ZIF samples were obtained and characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM and TG. The porous ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 got high SBET of >1700 m2 g−1 and high yields of 98.3% and 91.7%, respectively. Comparatively, the dense ZIF-zni (Zn) and ZIF-zni (Co) got high yields of 98.6% and 92.0% but very low SBET. ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 were utilized in environmental purification to exhibit good performances in dealing with heavy metals, radionuclides and organic pollutants through adsorption or photocatalysis. The scale-up reaction for ZIF-8 showed that the yield and key performance parameters were almost unchanged, which should be beneficial for mass production.

Cellulose acetate-based electrospun nanofiber aerogel with excellent resilience and hydrophobicity for efficient removal of drug residues and oil contaminations from wastewater

Cellulose acetate (CA)-based electrospun nanofiber aerogel (ENA) has drawn extensive attention for wastewater remediation due to its unique separation, inherent porosity and biodegradability. However, the low mechanical strength, poor durability, and limited adsorption ability hinder its further applications. We herein propose using silane-modified ENA, namely T-CA@Si@ZIF-67 (T-ENA), with enhanced resilience, hydrophobicity, durability and hetero-catalysis to remediate a complex wastewater containing oil and drug residues. The robust T-ENA was fabricated by pre-doping tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and ligand in its spinning precursors, followed by in-situ anchoring of porous ZIF-67 on the electrospun nanofibers (ENFs) via seeding method before freeze-drying and thermal curing (T). Results show that the T-ENA displays enhanced mechanical stability/resilience and hydrophobicity without compromise of its high porosity (>98 %) and low density (10 mg/cm3) due to the silane cross-linking. As a result, the hydrophobic T-ENA shows over 99 % separation efficiency towards different oil-water solutions. Meanwhile, thanks to the enhanced adsorption-catalytic ability and the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) from the porous ZIF-67, fast degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ) residue in the wastewater can be achieved within 20 min. This work might provide a novel strategy for developing CA aerogels to remove organic pollutants.

Unveiling the mechanisms behind high CO2 adsorption by the selection of suitable ionic liquids incorporated into a ZIF-8 metal organic framework: A computational approach

There is growing focus on the crucial task of effectively capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to mitigate environmental consequences. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been used to replace many conventional materials in gas separation, and the incorporation of ionic liquids (ILs) into porous MOFs has shown promise as a new technique for improving CO2 capture and separation. However, the driving force underlying the electronic modulation of MOF nanostructures and the mechanisms behind their high CO2 adsorption remain unclear. This study reports the effect of encapsulating different imidazolium ILs in porous ZIF-8, to clarify the adsorption mechanism of CO2 using density functional theory (DFT)-based approaches. For this purpose, a range of anions, including bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf2], methanesulfonate [MeSO3], and acetate [AC], were combined with the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [EMIM]+ cation. [EMIM]+-based ILs@ZIF-8 composites were computationally investigated to identify suitable materials for CO2 capture. First, the intermolecular and intramolecular interactions between [EMIM]+ and different anions were examined in detail, and their effects on CO2 adsorption were explored. Subsequently, the integration of these ILs into the ZIF-8 solid structure was studied to reveal how their interactions influenced the CO2 adsorption behavior. Our results demonstrate that the incorporation of ILs strongly affects the adsorption capability of CO2, which is highly dependent on the nature of the ILs inside the ZIF-8 framework. DFT simulations further confirmed that the incorporation of ILs into ZIF-8 led to superior CO2 capture compared to isolated ILs and pristine ZIF-8. This improvement was attributed to the mutual interactions between the ILs and ZIF-8, which effectively fine-tuned CO2 adsorption within the composite structure. This understanding may act as a general guide for gaining more insight into the interfacial interactions between ILs and ZIFs structures and how these molecular-level interactions can help predict the selection of ILs for CO2 adsorption and separation, thereby addressing environmental challenges with greater precision and effectiveness.

Embedding AIE-type Ag28Au1 nanoclusters within ZIF-8 for improved photodynamic wound healing through bacterial eradication.

Designing antibacterial agents with rapid bacterial eradication performance is paramount for the treatment of bacteria-infected wounds. Metal nanoclusters (NCs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) have been considered as novel photodynamic antibacterial agents without drug resistance, but they suffer from poor photostability and low charge carrier separation efficiency. Herein, we report the design of a photodynamic antibacterial agent by encapsulating AIE-type AgAu NCs (Ag28Au1 NCs) into a zeolitic Zn(2-methylimidazole)2 framework (ZIF-8). The encapsulation of AIE-type Ag28Au1 NCs into porous ZIF-8 could not only enhance the photostability of Ag28Au1 NCs by inhibiting their aggregation but also promote the separation of photoinduced charge carriers, resulting in the rapid generation of destructive reactive oxygen species (ROS) for bacterial killing under visible-light irradiation. Consequently, the as-designed photodynamic Ag28Au1 NCs@ZIF-8 antibacterial agent could rapidly eliminate 97.7% of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and 91.6% of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) within 5 min in vitro under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, in vivo experimental results have highlighted the synergistic effect created by AIE-type Ag28Au1 NCs and ZIF-8, enabling Ag28Au1 NCs@ZIF-8 to effectively eradicate bacteria in infected areas, reduce inflammation, and promote the generation of blood vessels, epithelial tissue, and collagen. This synergistic effect promoted the healing of S. aureus-infected wound, with nearly 100% of wound recovery within 11 days. This work may be interesting because it sheds light on the design of metal NC-based photodynamic nanomedicine for bacteria-infected disease treatment.