Zhiyuan Gu

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of nanoporous polymeric materials. However, the processing of such fragile crystalline powders into desired shapes for further applications is often difficult. A photoinduced postsynthetic polymerization (PSP) strategy was now employed to covalently link MOF crystals by flexible polymer chains, thus endowing the MOF powders with processability and flexibility. Nanosized UiO-66-NH₂ was first functionalized with polymerizable functional groups, and its subsequent copolymerization with monomers was easily induced by UV light under solvent-free and mild conditions. Because of the improved interaction between MOF particles and polymer chains, the resulting stand-alone and elastic MOF-based PSP-derived membranes possess crack-free and uniform structures and outstanding separation capabilities for Cr^VI ions from water.

Link-up: A UV-light-induced postsynthetic polymerization (PSP) was employed to covalently link crystals of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by flexible polymer chains. The obtained MOF-based membranes are homogeneously structured and show very good separation capacities for the removal of Cr^VI ions from water.