Engineering Elastic ZIF‐8‐Sponges for Oil–Water Separation

Abstract This work reports a rapid and straightforward method to fabricate ZIF‐8‐melamine sponge composite with good mechanical properties, which overcomes the outstanding challenge of fabricating mechanically stable metal–organic framework (MOF)‐based 3D structures. A continuous ZIF‐8 thin layer is grown onto sponge skeleton by simple immersion of pristine sponge in ZIF‐8 precursor solution. This method is rapid, cost‐effective, easily scaled‐up, and it does not require any premodification. The obtained ZIF‐8 sponge shows an excellent compressive behavior and ZIF‐8 thin layer remained intact after over ten cycles of compression tests. In addition, the MOF/polymer shows an outstanding absorption performance of organic solvents, good recoverability, and good recyclability, demonstrating its potential in cleaning up oil spills.