A green strategy to prepare metal oxide superstructure from metal-organic frameworks

Transformation study and characterization of Cu-BTC MOF-derived nanoporous copper oxide

This study provides a systematic and comprehensive investigation of the transformation process of copper-based metal-organic frameworks (Cu-BTC MOFs) into nanoporous copper oxides (P-CuOx) through controlled calcination. While calcination is a well-established method for producing MOF-derived oxides, previous studies have primarily focused on their applications. Most of them often lack detailed exploration of the transformation process and decomposition mechanisms though it is crucial for achieving tunability in MOF-derived structures. Our study addresses this gap by offering valuable insights that can guide the production of various MOF-derived oxides with tunable structural and functional properties. In this report, we have meticulously analysed the combined effects of calcination parameters, including temperature (250-500 °C), heating rate (0.5-10 °C min-1), and duration (1 and 2 hours) on the phase transformation, morphological features, and optical properties of Cu-BTC during its transformation to P-CuOx. Results revealed that fine adjustments to these calcination parameters allow precise control over phase purity, surface area, and porosity, achieving a high surface area of 113 m2 g-1 for derived P-CuO. Furthermore, the P-CuOx materials exhibited strong visible-light absorption, highlighting their potential for solar energy harvesting applications. This approach opens opportunities for designing advanced materials with customized performance characteristics. The findings have broad applicability and enable the research community to fully exploit MOF-derived oxides for designing advanced materials with customized properties for diverse applications, including energy, sensing, and biomedical.

Synthesis and Characterization of MOF-Derived Structures: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Due to their facile tunability, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are employed as precursors and templates to construct advanced functional materials with unique and desired chemical, physical, mechanical, and morphological properties. By tuning MOF precursor composition and manipulating conversion processes, various MOF-derived materials commonly known as MOF derivatives can be constructed. The possibility of controlled and predictable properties makes MOF derivatives a preferred choice for numerous advanced technological applications. The innovative synthetic designs besides the plethora of interdisciplinary characterization approaches applicable to MOF derivatives provide the opportunity to perform a myriad of experiments to explore the performance and offer key insight to develop the next generation of advanced materials. Though there are many published works of literature describing various synthesis and characterization techniques of MOF derivatives, it is still not clear how the synthesis mechanism works and what are the best techniques to characterize these materials to probe their properties accurately. In this review, the recent development in synthesis techniques and mechanisms for a variety of MOF derivates such as MOF-derived metal oxides, porous carbon, composites/hybrids, and sulfides is summarized. Furthermore, the details of characterization techniques and fundamental working principles are summarized to probe the structural, mechanical, physiochemical, electrochemical, and electronic properties of MOF and MOF derivatives. The future trends and some remaining challenges in the synthesis and characterization of MOF derivatives are also discussed.

Streamlined synthesis of superstructure Ni-benzimidazole MOFs: Glucose electrochemical analysis

The design and synthesis of efficient electrochemical sensors are crucial transformation technologies in electrochemistry. We successfully synthesize a three-dimensional Ni-metal-organic framework (MOF) nanostructured material with a superior architecture using benzimidazole and nickel nitrate as precursors at room temperature which is being applied in glucose electrochemical sensors. The reaction mechanism of M-6 during glucose detection is thoroughly studied using various characterization techniques, such as in situ Raman spectroscopy, in situ ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, synchrotron radiography, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The research findings demonstrate that the M-6 material exhibits high sensitivity for glucose detection, with a sensitivity of 2199.88 mA M-1 cm-2. This study provides an important reference for designing more efficient electrochemical reaction systems and optimizing material performance. Furthermore, the superstructural design offers new ideas and possibilities for the development and application of similar materials.

ZnO/CeO2 Nanocomposites: Metal-Organic Framework-Mediated Synthesis, Characterization, and Estimation of Cellular Toxicity toward Liver Cancer Cells

The Zinc-doped cerium oxide nanocomposite (ZnO/CeO₂ NC) was synthesized using a metal-organic framework as a precursor through the combustion method. It was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and ξ-potential. The PXRD demonstrated the successful synthesis of ZnO/CeO₂ NC with a crystallite size of 31.9 nm. FESEM and TEM images displayed hexagonal and spherical morphologies, and the solid-phase size was 65.03 ± 30.86 nm for ZnO/CeO₂ NCs. DLS, TEM, and FESEM showed that the NCs have a high tendency for agglomeration/aggregation in both aqueous media and solid phase. The anticancer attributes of ZnO/CeO₂ NC were investigated against Liver cancer cells (HepG2), which showed inhibition of cancer cell growth on a concentration-dependent gradient. The cell toxicity effects of ZnO/CeO₂ nanocomposites were also studied toward NIH-3T3, in which the data displayed the lower toxicity of NC compared to the HepG2 cell line.

Atmosphere-sensitive photoluminescence of Co x Fe3-x O4 metal oxide nanoparticles

In this work the photoluminescence (PL) of Co x Fe3-x O4 spinel oxide nanoparticles under pulsed UV laser irradiation (λ exc = 270 nm) is investigated for varying Co/Fe ratios (x = 0.4⋯2.5). A broad emission in the green spectral range is observed, exhibiting two maxima at around 506 nm, which is dominant for Fe-rich nanoparticles (x = 0.4, 0.9), and at around 530 nm, that is more pronounced for Co-rich nanoparticles (x > 1.6). As examinations in different atmospheres show that the observed emission reacts sensitively to the presence of water, it is proposed that the emission is mainly caused by OH groups with terminal or bridging metal-O bonds on the Co x Fe3-x O4 surface. Raman spectroscopy supports that the emission maximum at 506 nm corresponds to terminal OH groups bound to metal cations on tetrahedral sites (i.e., Fe3+), while the maximum around 530 nm corresponds to terminal OH groups bound to metal cations on octahedral sites (i.e., Co3+). Photoinduced dehydroxylation shows that OH groups can be removed on Fe-rich nanoparticles more easily, leading to a conversion process and the formation of new OH groups with different bonds to the surface. As such behavior is not observed for Co x Fe3-x O4 with x > 1.6, we conclude that the OH groups are more stable against dehydroxylation on Co-rich nanoparticles. The higher OH stability is expected to lead to a higher catalytic activity of Co-rich cobalt ferrites in the electrochemical generation of oxygen.

A novel copper(i) metal–organic framework as a highly efficient and ultrasensitive electrochemical platform for detection of Hg(ii) ions in aqueous solution

A novel copper(i) metal–organic framework was constructed and used to modify a glassy carbon electrode, and exhibits excellent electrochemical sensing of Hg(ii) ions.

High-performance Zn2SnO4 anodes enabled by MOF-derived MnO decoration and carbon confinement for lithium-ion batteries

Materials optimization of Zn₂SnO₄ composites by incorporating biomass and metal–organic framework derivatives was proposed for high-energy lithium-ion batteries.

Amine-functionalized Cu-MOF nanospheres towards label-free hepatitis B surface antigen electrochemical immunosensors

Metal-organic framework (MOF) nanomaterials offer a wide range of promising applications due to their unique properties, including open micro- and mesopores and richness of functionalization. Herein, a facile synthesis via a solvothermal method was successfully employed to prepare amine-functionalized Cu-MOF nanospheres. Moreover, the growth and the morphology of the nanospheres were optimized by the addition of PVP and TEA. By functionalization with an amine group, the immobilization of a bioreceptor towards the detection of hepatitis B infection biomarker, i.e., hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), could be realized. The immobilization of the bioreceptor/antibody to Cu-MOF nanospheres was achieved through a covalent interaction between the carboxyl group of the antibodies and the amino-functional ligand in Cu-MOF via EDC/NHS coupling. The amine-functionalized Cu-MOF nanospheres act not only as a nanocarrier for antibody immobilization, but also as an electroactive material to generate the electrochemical signal. The electrochemical sensing performance was characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results showed that the current response proportionally decreased with the increase of HBsAg concentration. More importantly, the sensing performance of the amine-functionalized Cu-MOF nanospheres towards HBsAg detection was found to be consistent in real human serum media. This strategy successfully resulted in wide linear range detection of HBsAg from 1 ng mL-1 to 500 ng mL-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 730 pg mL-1. Thus, our approach provides a facile and low-cost synthesis process of an electrochemical immunosensor and paves the way to potentially utilize MOF-based nanomaterials for clinical use.

Simple electrochemical sensing for mercury ions in dairy product using optimal Cu2+-based metal-organic frameworks as signal reporting

A convenient sensor is developed for electrochemical assay of Hg²⁺ in dairy product using the optimal Cu²⁺-based metal-organic frameworks (Cu-MOFs) as signal reporting. Benefiting from specific recognition between Hg²⁺ and thymine (T)-rich DNA strands, the interferences of milk matrices are effectively eliminated, thereby greatly improving the accuracy of test results. Moreover, the suitable Cu-MOFs offer an efficient carrier for probe design, and the contained Cu²⁺ ions could be directly detected to output electrochemical signal of Hg²⁺ presence without labor- or time-intensive operations. Compared with previous methods, this sensor substantially simplifies the process of electrochemical measurement and facilitates highly sensitive, selective and rapid analysis of Hg²⁺ with detection limit of 4.8 fM, offering a valuable means for monitoring dairy product contamination with Hg²⁺.

Controlling the morphology of metal–organic frameworks and porous carbon materials: metal oxides as primary architecture-directing agents

We give a comprehensive overview of how the morphology control is an effective and versatile way to control the physicochemical properties of metal oxides that can be transferred to metal–organic frameworks and porous carbon materials.

Thermal Stability of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Encapsulation of CuO Nanocrystals for Highly Active Catalysis

We report an aerosol-based approach to study the thermal stability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for gas-phase synthesis of MOF-based hybrid nanostructures used for highly active catalysis. Temperature-programmed electrospray-differential mobility analysis (TP-ES-DMA) provides the characterization of temperature-dependent morphological change directly in the gas phase, and the results are shown to be highly correlated with the structural thermal stability of MOFs determined by the traditional measurements of porosity and crystallinity. The results show that MOFs underwent thermal decomposition via simultaneous disassembly and deaggregation. Trimeric Cr-based MIL-88B-NH₂ exhibited a higher temperature of decomposition ( T_d), 350 °C, than trimeric Fe-based MIL-88B-NH₂, 250 °C. For UiO-66, a significant decrease of T_d by ≈100 °C was observed by using amine-functionalized ligands in the MOF structure. Copper oxide nanocrystals were successfully encapsulated in the UiO-66 crystal (Cu _xO@UiO-66) by using a gas-phase evaporation-induced self-assembly approach followed by a suitable thermal treatment below T_d (i.e., determined by TP-ES-DMA). Cu _xO@UiO-66 demonstrated a very high catalytic activity and stability to CO oxidation, showing at least a 3-time increase in CO conversion compared to the bare CuO nanoparticle samples. The study demonstrates a prototype methodology (1) to determine structural thermal stability of MOFs using a gas-phase electrophoretic method (TP-ES-DMA) and (2) to gas-phase synthesize CuO nanocrystals encapsulated in MOFs.

Co@Carbon and Co 3 O4@Carbon nanocomposites derived from a single MOF for supercapacitors

Developing a composite electrode containing both carbon and transition metal/metal oxide as the supercapacitor electrode can combine the merits and mitigate the shortcomings of both the components. Herein, we report a simple strategy to prepare the hybrid nanostructure of Co@Carbon and Co₃O₄@Carbon by pyrolysis a single MOFs precursor. Co-based MOFs (Co-BDC) nanosheets with morphology of regular parallelogram slice have been prepared by a bottom-up synthesis strategy. One-step pyrolysis of Co-BDC, produces a porous carbon layer incorporating well-dispersed Co and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles. The as-prepared cobalt-carbon composites exhibit the thin layer morphology and large specific surface area with hierarchical porosity. These features significantly improve the ion-accessible surface area for charge storage and shorten the ion transport length in thin dimension, thus contributing to a high specific capacitance. Improved capacitance performance was successfully realized for the asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) (Co@Carbon//Co₃O₄@Carbon), better than those of the symmetric supercapacitors (SSCs) based on Co@Carbon and Co₃O₄@Carbon materials (i.e., Co@Carbon//Co@Carbon and Co₃O₄@Carbon//Co₃O₄@Carbon). The working voltage of the ASCs can be extended to 1.5 V and show a remarkable high power capability in aqueous electrolyte. This work provides a controllable strategy for nanostructured carbon-metal and carbon-metal oxide composite electrodes from a single precursor.

Nano Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials: Synthetic Strategies and Applications

Nano- (or micro-scale) metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs), also known as coordination polymer particles (CPPs), have received much attention because of their structural diversities and tunable properties. Besides the direct use, NMOFs can be alternatively used as sacrificial templates/precursors for the preparation of a wide range of hybrid inorganic nanomaterials in straightforward and controllable manners. Distinct advantages of using NMOF templates are correlated to their structural and functional tailorability at molecular levels that is rarely acquired in any other conventional template/precursor. In addition, NMOF-derived inorganic nanomaterials with distinct chemical and physical properties are inferred to dramatically expand the scope of their utilization in many fields. In this review, we aim to provide readers with a comprehensive summary of recent progress in terms of synthetic approaches for the production of diverse inorganic hybrid nanostructures from as-synthesized NMOFs and their promising applications.

Ni-Based metal–organic framework derived Ni@C nanosheets on a Ni foam substrate as a supersensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor

Uniform and compact porous Ni@C nanosheet membranes on Ni foam showing remarkable electrocatalytic activity for non-enzymatic glucose sensing.

Smart Nanocomposites of Cu-Hemin Metal-Organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Glucose Biosensing

Herein, a smart porous material, Cu-hemin metal-organic-frameworks (Cu-hemin MOFs), was synthesized via assembling of Cu²⁺ with hemin to load glucose oxidase (GOD) for electrochemical glucose biosensing for the first time. The formation of the Cu-hemin MOFs was verified by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, thermal analysis and electrochemical techniques. The results indicated that the Cu-hemin MOFs showed a ball-flower-like hollow cage structure with a large specific surface area and a large number of mesopores. A large number of GOD molecules could be successfully loaded in the pores of Cu-hemin MOFs to keep their bioactivity just like in a solution. The GOD/Cu-hemin MOFs exhibited both good performance toward oxygen reduction reaction via Cu-hemin MOFs and catalytic oxidation of glucose via GOD, superior to other GOD/MOFs and GOD/nanomaterials. Accordingly, the performance of GOD/Cu-hemin MOFs-based electrochemical glucose sensor was enhanced greatly, showing a wide linear range from 9.10 μM to 36.0 mM and a low detection limit of 2.73 μM. Moreover, the sensor showed satisfactory results in detection of glucose in human serum. This work provides a practical design of new electrochemical sensing platform based on MOFs and biomolecules.

One-Step Catalytic Synthesis of CuO/Cu2O in a Graphitized Porous C Matrix Derived from the Cu-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Li- and Na-Ion Batteries

The hybrid composite electrode comprising CuO and Cu2O micronanoparticles in a highly graphitized porous C matrix (CuO/Cu2O-GPC) has a rational design and is a favorable approach to increasing the rate capability and reversible capacity of metal oxide negative materials for Li- and Na-ion batteries. CuO/Cu2O-GPC is synthesized through a Cu-based metal-organic framework via a one-step thermal transformation process. The electrochemical performances of the CuO/Cu2O-GPC negative electrode in Li- and Na-ion batteries are systematically studied and exhibit excellent capacities of 887.3 mAh g(-1) at 60 mA g(-1) after 200 cycles in a Li-ion battery and 302.9 mAh g(-1) at 50 mA g(-1) after 200 cycles in a Na-ion battery. The high electrochemical stability was obtained via the rational strategy, mainly owing to the synergy effect of the CuO and Cu2O micronanoparticles and highly graphitized porous C formed by catalytic graphitization of Cu nanoparticles. Owing to the simple one-step thermal transformation process and resulting high electrochemical performance, CuO/Cu2O-GPC is one of the prospective negative active materials for rechargeable Li- and Na-ion batteries.

Hydrothermally synthesized Copper Oxide (CuO) superstructures for ammonia sensing

According to environmental protection agencies (EPA), the emission threshold of NH3 in air is 1000kg/yr which is now about 20Tg/yr. Hence, there is a rapid increase in need of NH3 sensors to timely detect and control NH3 emissions. Metal oxide nanostructures such as CuO with special features are potential candidates for NH3 sensing. In the present study, morphology controlled 3-dimensional CuO superstructures were synthesized by surfactant-free hydrothermal method for NH3 detection. In addition to conventional hydrothermal method where water as solvent, a modified approach using a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (EG) was used as solvent to control the growth process. Hierarchical superstructures namely, snowflake-like, flower-like, hollow-sphere-like and urchin-like feature with particle dimensions ranging from 0.3 to 1μm were obtained by varying water/EG ratio and reaction temperature. The synthesized nanostructures exhibited morphology dependent luminescence and gas sensing properties. The surface area and pore distribution determined by BET surface analysis also largely influenced by the presence of EG in the reaction system. The average pore diameter enhanced from 6nm to 14nm by the addition of 10ml EG as solvent. The room temperature ammonia sensing behavior of all samples was studied using an indigenous gas sensing set-up. It was found that hollow-sphere like CuO nanostructures showed a maximum sensitivity of 150% towards 600ppm ammonia with a response and recovery time of 6min. The hydrothermal synthesis strategy reported here has the advantage of producing shape controlled hierarchical materials are highly suitable for various technological applications.

Adsorption of silver nanoparticles from aqueous solution on copper-based metal organic frameworks (HKUST-1)

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are emerging pollutants. The use of novel materials such as Cu-(benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxylate, BTC) Metal-Organic Framework (MOFs), for AgNP adsorption and their removal from aqueous solutions has been studied. The effect of different parameters was followed and isotherm model was suggested. MOFs adsorbed fast and efficiently AgNP in the range C0 < 10 mg L(-1), being Freundlich isotherm (R = 0.993) these data fitted to. Among studied parameters a remarkable effect of chloride on sorption was found, thus their possible interactions were considered. The high adsorption efficiency of AgNP was achieved and it was found to be very fast. The feasibility of adsorption on Cu-(BTC) was proved in spiked waters. The results showed the potential interest of new material as adsorbent for removing AgNP from environment.

Efficient elimination of caffeine from water using Oxone activated by a magnetic and recyclable cobalt/carbon nanocomposite derived from ZIF-67

To eliminate caffeine, one of the most common pharmaceuticals and personal care products, from water, Oxone (peroxymonosulfate salt) was proposed to degrade it.

Gas-generated thermal oxidation of a coordination cluster for an anion-doped mesoporous metal oxide

Central in material design of metal oxides is the increase of surface area and control of intrinsic electronic and optical properties, because of potential applications for energy storage, photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Here, we disclose a facile method, inspired by geochemical process, which gives rise to mesoporous anion-doped metal oxides. As a model system, we demonstrate that simple calcination of a multinuclear coordination cluster results in synchronic chemical reactions: thermal oxidation of Ti₈O₁₀(4-aminobenzoate)₁₂ and generation of gases including amino-group fragments. The gas generation during the thermal oxidation of Ti₈O₁₀(4-aminobenzoate)₁₂ creates mesoporosity in TiO₂. Concurrently, nitrogen atoms contained in the gases are doped into TiO₂, thus leading to the formation of mesoporous N-doped TiO₂. The mesoporous N-doped TiO₂ can be easily synthesized by calcination of the multinuclear coordination cluster, but shows better photocatalytic activity than the one prepared by a conventional sol-gel method. Owing to an intrinsic designability of coordination compounds, this facile synthetic will be applicable to a wide range of metal oxides and anion dopants.

Cu-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Catalyst To Construct a Ratiometric Electrochemical Aptasensor for Sensitive Lipopolysaccharide Detection

In this work, we developed a sensitive and efficient ratiometric electrochemical method for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) detection using Cu-based metal-organic frameworks (Cu-MOFs) as a catalyst and target-triggered quadratic cycles for signal amplification. First, in the presence of target LPS, the conformation change of the specifically designed hairpin probes 1 (HP1) triggered the target cyclic-induced polymerization to produce the output DNA with the aid of phi29 DNA polymerase (phi29). Then, the obtained output DNA hybridized with ferrocene-labeled hairpin probes 2 (Fc-HP2, which were immobilized on the electrode) to generate a nicking endonuclease (N.BstNBI) cleavage site. Thus, with N.BstNBI, the original signal molecules of Fc left from the electrode, and the single-stranded capture-probe-modified sensing interface was obtained. At this time, signal probes conducted by Au-nanoparticles-functionalized Cu-MOFs and labeled hairpin probes 3 (HP3/AuNPs/Cu-MOFs) were hybridized with capture probes for hairpin assembly. Herein, AuNPs/Cu-MOFs were not only used as nanocarriers for immobilizing HP3 but also acted as electroactive materials for signal reporting. With the proposed target-triggered quadratic cycles, the cleavage sites of Fc-HP2 were cut, and capture probes were obtained to hybridize with HP3/AuNPs/Cu-MOFs, which caused the signal decrease of Fc. Then Cu-MOFs were closed to the electrode for the signal increase of Cu-MOFs. Furthermore, when glucose was present in the detection solution, AuNPs/Cu-MOFs catalyzed the oxidation of glucose to realize the enzyme-free signal amplification. By measuring the peak currents ratio of the Cu-MOFs and Fc, the proposed aptasenor for LPS detection showed a low detection limit (0.33 fg/mL) and a wide linear range from 1.0 fg/mL to 100 ng/mL with high accuracy and sensitivity. This ratiometric electrochemical approach is expected to be a valuable strategy for detection of other analytes.

The MIL-88A-Derived Fe3O4-Carbon Hierarchical Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Sensing

Metal or metal oxides/carbon nanocomposites with hierarchical superstructures have become one of the most promising functional materials in sensor, catalysis, energy conversion, etc. In this work, novel hierarchical Fe3O4/carbon superstructures have been fabricated based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-derived method. Three kinds of Fe-MOFs (MIL-88A) with different morphologies were prepared beforehand as templates, and then pyrolyzed to fabricate the corresponding novel hierarchical Fe3O4/carbon superstructures. The systematic studies on the thermal decomposition process of the three kinds of MIL-88A and the effect of template morphology on the products were carried out in detail. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermal analysis were employed to investigate the hierarchical Fe3O4/carbon superstructures. Based on these resulted hierarchical Fe3O4/carbon superstructures, a novel and sensitive nonenzymatic N-acetyl cysteine sensor was developed. The porous and hierarchical superstructures and large surface area of the as-formed Fe3O4/carbon superstructures eventually contributed to the good electrocatalytic activity of the prepared sensor towards the oxidation of N-acetyl cysteine. The proposed preparation method of the hierarchical Fe3O4/carbon superstructures is simple, efficient, cheap and easy to mass production. It might open up a new way for hierarchical superstructures preparation.