A versatile MOF-based trap for heavy metal ion capture and dispersion

Current technologies for removing heavy metal ions are typically metal ion specific. Herein we report the development of a broad-spectrum heavy metal ion trap by incorporation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid into a robust metal-organic framework. The capture experiments for a total of 22 heavy metal ions, covering hard, soft, and borderline Lewis metal ions, show that the trap is very effective, with removal efficiencies of >99% for single-component adsorption, multi-component adsorption, or in breakthrough processes. The material can also serve as a host for metal ion loading with arbitrary selections of metal ion amounts/types with a controllable uptake ratio to prepare well-dispersed single or multiple metal catalysts. This is supported by the excellent performance of the prepared Pd2+-loaded composite toward the Suzuki coupling reaction. This work proposes a versatile heavy metal ion trap that may find applications in the fields of separation and catalysis.