Metal-Organic Gel Material Based on UiO-66-NH2Nanoparticles for Improved Adsorption and Conversion of Carbon Dioxide

Abstract Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) including the UiO‐66 series show potential application in the adsorption and conversion of CO 2 . Herein, we report the first tetravalent metal‐based metal–organic gels constructed from Zr IV and 2‐aminoterephthalic acid (H 2 BDC‐NH 2 ). The ZrBDC‐NH 2 gel materials are based on UiO‐66‐NH 2 nanoparticles and were easily prepared under mild conditions (80 °C for 4.5 h). The ZrBDC‐NH 2 ‐1:1‐0.2 gel material has a high surface area (up to 1040 m 2 g −1 ) and showed outstanding performance in CO 2 adsorption (by using the dried material) and conversion (by using the wet gel) arising from the combined advantages of the gel and the UiO‐66‐NH 2 MOF. The ZrBDC‐NH 2 ‐1:1‐0.2 dried material showed 38 % higher capture capacity for CO 2 at 298 K than microcrystalline UiO‐66‐NH 2 . It showed high ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity (71.6 at 298 K) for a CO 2 /N 2 gas mixture (molar ratio 15:85). Furthermore, the ZrBDC‐NH 2 ‐1:1‐0.2 gel showed activity as a heterogeneous catalyst in the chemical fixation of CO 2 and an excellent catalytic performance was achieved for the cycloaddition of atmospheric pressure of CO 2 to epoxides at 373 K. In addition, the gel catalyst could be reused over multiple cycles with no considerable loss of catalytic activity.