Congratulations to Zahid Hussain for his new paper, ‘An in situ investigation of the thermal decomposition of metal-organic framework NH2-MIL-125 (Ti)’ , recently published in Microporous and Mesoporous Materials.
Zahid explains the paper’s findings:
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are exceptionally porous and highly crystalline coordination polymers. Since the late 1990s, MOFs have been intensively investigated for a large variety of applications such as gas separation and storage, energy storage and conversion, batteries, fuel cells, optoelectronics, sensing, supercapacitors, drug delivery and catalysis. However, many key questions need to be answered to optimize the synthesis of these materials for industrial-scale applications. In this study, we present an in-situ investigation of thermal conversion of a titanium-based MOF, NH2-MIL-125(Ti) under an inert atmosphere. In situ thermal analysis of NH2-MIL-125(Ti) reveals the presence of 3 defined stages of thermal transformation in the following order: phase-pure, highly porous, and crystalline MOF → intermediate amorphous phase without accessible porosity → recrystallized porous phase. The three stages occur from room temperature till 300 °C, between 350 and 550 °C and above ∼550 °C respectively. The derived disc-like particles exhibit a 35% volume shrinkage compared to the pristine MOF precursor. Highly crystalline N and/or C self-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed in the porous carbon matrix. The original 3D tetragonal disc-like morphology of the NH2-MIL-125(Ti) remains preserved in derived N and/or C doped TiO2/C composites. This study will provide an in-depth understanding of the thermal conversion behaviour of MOFs to rationally select and design the derived composites for the relevant applications.
We would also like to congratulate Zahid on passing his viva, and wish him the best of luck for his future career.