Microplasma electrochemistry (MIPEC) strategy for accelerating the synthesis of metal organic frameworks at room temperature

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a kind of promising materials in many applications, while the fast and controllable synthesis of MOFs is still challenging. Here, taking HKUST-1 as illustration, a micro-plasma electrochemistry (MIPEC) strategy was developed to accelerate the synthesis process of MOFs with micro-plasma acting as cathode. Treating the HKUST-1 precursor solution with micro-plasma cathode could not only transfer the electrons into the solution leading to the deprotonation effect, but also generate radical species to trigger and accelerate the nucleation and growth of MOFs at the plasma-liquid interface. Thus, uniform and nanosize MOFs could be prepared within minutes. The obtained MOFs show similar excellent uranium adsorption properties compared with those obtained by other method, with a highly adsorption capability of uranium with 550 mg/g in minutes. The novel MIPEC strategy developed in this work provides an alternative for controllable synthesis of MOFs, and especially has potential application in accelerating traditional organic synthesis.