Construction of a superhydrophobic microenvironment via polystyrene coating: an unexpected way to stabilize CuI against oxidation. Issue 24 (22nd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Yu-Xia; Ji, Yu-Nong; Mao, Shi-Xian; Jin, Meng-Meng; Liu, Xiao-Qin; Sun, Lin-Bing
• Is Part Of: Inorganic chemistry frontiers. Volume 8:Issue 24(2021)
• Page Start: 5169
• Page End: 5177
• Publication Date: 2021-10-22
• Subjects: Chemistry, Inorganic -- Periodicals; 546.05
• DOI: 10.1039/d1qi01050f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2052-1553

Abstract

Abstract : A superhydrophobic microenvironment in MIL-101(Cr) was constructed via coating polystyrene, resulting in improved Cu I stability and adsorptive desulfurization performance. Abstract : Cu I -Functionalized materials show high potential in numerous applications such as adsorptive desulfurization. Nonetheless, the instability of Cu I against oxidation limits its practical applications, and exposure of Cu I to air can lead to the formation of Cu II owing to the presence of oxygen and moisture. Herein, an unexpected way to stabilize Cu I against oxidation was designed by constructing a superhydrophobic microenvironment in original hydrophilic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) via polystyrene (PS) coating. A pre-polymerization strategy is developed to coat PS on the surface of Cu I -functionalized MIL-101(Cr) (Cu I M) rather than entering the pores (producing Cu I M@PS), and the access of moisture to Cu I is hindered, thus stabilizing Cu I regardless of the existence of oxygen. Cu I in Cu I M@PS is stable in the air with a constant relative humidity of 75% for 200 days, while almost all Cu I is converted to Cu II in Cu I M in only 14 days. The optimal Cu I M@PS material after air exposure can adsorb 0.208 mmol g −1 of thiophene, which is much superior to that of Cu I M (0.024 mmol g −1 ) despite the comparable adsorption capacity for unexposed materials. Moreover, the present Cu I M@PS adsorbents exhibit excellent adsorption performance for water-containing model fuels.