Ionic Liquid Welding of the UIO-66-NH2 MOF to Cotton Textiles

Ionic liquid based fiber welding has been used to attach the metal–organic framework (MOF) UiO-66-NH2 to cotton fibers. The results show that by controlling the extent of the welding process, it is possible to produce fibers that contain a high surface area (approximately 50–100 m2/g), an X-ray diffraction pattern consistent with UiO-66-NH2, and fibers that are chemically reactive to dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP), a common chemical weapon simulant. The ionic liquid/MOF welding solution can be applied by directly placing the fabric in the welding solution or by utilizing an airbrushing technique. Both welding techniques are shown to be scalable with results collected on approximately 1 × 1, 5 × 5, and 15.5 × 15.5 in. swatches. The results are also applicable to weaving methods where the MOF is welded to individual threads and subsequently woven into a textile. The results provide an industrially scalable method of attaching a wide variety of MOFs to cotton textiles, which does not require synthesizing the MOF in the presence of the textile.