Facile Synthesis and Direct Activation of Zirconium Based Metal–Organic Frameworks from Acetone

In recent years much emphasis has been placed on the synthesis of highly novel metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with general disregard to development of sustainable synthesis techniques. A novel synthesis of UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH 2, two highly stable MOFs that have shown much promise in the area of catalysis and reactive removal of small molecules, from acetone is demonstrated here. Using this method, the MOFs can be activated by simple heating under vacuum without the need for solvent exchange, which can be a timely processing step that requires the use of large amounts of solvent. The activity of the series of MOFs synthesized at various temperatures was determined by the rate of hydrolysis of methyl paraoxon and the reactive capacity of UiO-66-NH 2 with chlorine gas. Direct correlations were observed between synthesis temperature, crystallinity, BET surface area, and activity of the MOFs.