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. 2023 Aug 21;11(35):13043-13049.
doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c02876. eCollection 2023 Sep 4.

Synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 Using Glycerol Carbonate

Masaki Itatani  1 , Norbert Német  1   2 , Nadia Valletti  3 , Gábor Schuszter  4 , Prisco Prete  5 , Pierandrea Lo Nostro  6 , Raffaele Cucciniello  5   7 , Federico Rossi  3 , István Lagzi  1   8
Affiliations

Synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 Using Glycerol Carbonate

Masaki Itatani et al. ACS Sustain Chem Eng. .

Abstract

In this study, we show that glycerol carbonate (GlyC), a bio-based derivative of glycerol, can be used as a suitable green solvent for the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In particular, a zinc-based zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was synthesized by exploring several different experimental conditions (in terms of temperature, reaction time, and reactants' concentrations) to find that the yield of the reaction and the quality of the products, measured in terms of crystallinity, surface area, and porosity, were in line with those obtained in the most commonly (non-green) used solvents. GlyC was also found to be reusable for several cycles, maintaining the same original quality as a solvent for the synthesis. Finally, some indicators for the assessment of the greenness of a process (E-factor and PMI) revealed a milder environmental impact of GlyC with respect to other solvents.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SEM micrographs of synthesized ZIF-8 after 2 days of reaction using 10 mM of NaOH at various temperatures: (a) room temperature (∼20 °C), (b) 60, and (c) 100 °C. Generated ZIF-8 at 100 °C using 10 mM of NaOH for various synthesis times: (d) 1 day, (e) 2 days, and (f) 1 week. All reactions were carried out using [Zn(OAc)2] = 10 mM and [Hmim] = 40 mM. Panels (c,d) are framed in orange to highlight the optimal conditions in terms of temperature and reaction time.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Effect of the initial concentration of the reactants on the reaction and (b) photographs of the reaction mixture after 1 day at 100 °C. (c) SEM micrographs of ZIF-8 particles at Θ = 100 °C, t = 1 day, and [NaOH] = 0.01 M using [Zn(OAc)2]/[Hmim] = (c) 5:10 mM, (d) 5:20 mM, (e) 5:250 mM, (f) 10:20 mM, (g) 10:40 mM, (h) 10:100 mM, (i) 20:40 mM, and (j) 20:80 mM, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) PXRD pattern, (b) BET isotherm, and (c) BJH pore size distribution of ZIF-8 synthesized at 100 °C for 1 day with [Zn(OAc)2] = 10 mM, [Hmim] = 20 mM, and [NaOH] = 10 mM. The open circles above the peaks in panel (a) indicate the reported diffractions of ZIF-8.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM micrographs of ZIF-8 synthesized in the first synthesis (a) and each recycle step: (b) first, (c) second, (d) third, and (e) fourth recycles. ZIF-8 was synthesized for every recycling experiment at 100 °C for 1 day with [Zn(OAc)2] = 10 mM, [Hmim] = 20 mM, and [NaOH] = 10 mM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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