Diffusion-Controlled Rotation of Triptycene in a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) Sheds Light on the Viscosity of MOF-Confined Solvent

Jiang, Xing [Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States]; Duan, Hai-Bao [Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States; School
of Environmental Science, Nanjing Xiao Zhuang University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211171, P.R. China]; Khan, Saeed I. [Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States]; Garcia-Garibay, Miguel A. [Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States]

doi:10.1021/acscentsci.6b00168

Abstract

Hybridization of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and polymers into composites yields materials that display the exceptional properties of MOFs with the robustness of polymers. However, the realization of MOF–polymer composites requires efficient dispersion and interactions of MOF particles with polymer matrices, which remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a simple, scalable, bench‐top approach to covalently tethered nylon–MOF polymer composite materials through an interfacial polymerization technique. The copolymerization of a modified UiO‐66‐NH₂MOF with a growing polyamide fiber (PA‐66) during an interfacial polymerization gave hybrid materials with up to around 29 weight percent MOF. The covalent hybrid material demonstrated nearly an order of magnitude higher catalytic activity for the breakdown of a chemical warfare simulant (dimethyl‐4‐nitrophenyl phosphate, DMNP) compared to MOFs that are non‐covalently, physically entrapped in nylon, thus highlighting the importance of MOF–polymer hybridization.

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