Thermal pyrolysis and kinetic analysis of a ZnxCo1−x ZiF-8 metal–organic framework for recent applications

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are interesting materials for use in several aspects: energy storage material, gas sensing, and photocatalysis. The thermal stability and pyrolysis process are crucial to determine the active phase of the material. A deep understanding of the pyrolysis mechanism is in demand. So, the thermodynamics and combustion process with different heating rates were examined, and the kinetic parameters were computed employing thermogravimetric tests. Based on the TG analysis of combustion, pyrolysis moves to the high-temperature region with an increase in heating rate. The decomposition process can be separated into dehydration (300–503 K) and pyrolysis reaction (703–1100 K). Three points of the decomposition process are performed by dynamical analysis owing to shifts of slopes, but the combustion process has only one stage. Dynamical parameters, for instance, the possible mechanism, the pre-exponential factor, and the apparent activation energy were obtained through comparison using the Kissinger formula. The thermodynamics analysis of the Zn1−xCox ZIF-8 materials is an effective way to explore the temperature influence on the process of pyrolysis, which can benefit in several recent applications.