A cost-effective method for the synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 materials from stoichiometric precursors via aqueous ammonia modulation at room temperature

• Published in: Microporous and mesoporous materials 2014-07, Vol.193, p.7-14
• Main Authors: Chen, Binling, Bai, Fenghua, Zhu, Yanqiu, Xia, Yongde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aqueous ammonia; Chemistry; Colloidal state and disperse state; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Hydrothermal synthesis; Porous materials; Zeolitic material; ZIF-8
• ISSN: 1387-1811; 1873-3093
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2014.03.006

•A cost-effective and facile method for the preparation of ZIF-8 is presented.•ZIF-8 can be produced at room temperature from stoichiometric precursor in NH3·H2O.•NH3·H2O concentration affects the particle size and textural property of ZIF-8. In this report, a cost-effective and facile method for the preparation of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 material was presented. ZIF-8 can be readily synthesized from stoichiometric precursors in aqueous ammonia solution without any other additives at room temperature, comparing that a large excess of organic ligand is required to form ZIF-8 under similar conditions in pure aqueous solution. The structures, particle sizes and textural properties of resulting ZIF-8 materials can be easily tuneable by simply control over the concentration of aqueous ammonia in the synthesis mixture. This low-cost and efficient synthesis method has great potential for large scale production of ZIF-8 for practical applications.