Partitioning MOF-5 into Confined and Hydrophobic Compartments for Carbon Capture under Humid Conditions

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), by virtue of their remarkable uptake capability, selectivity, and ease of regeneration, hold great promise for carbon capture from fossil fuel combustion. However, their stability toward moisture together with the competitive adsorption of water against CO2 drastically dampens their capacity and selectivity under real humid flue gas conditions. In this work, an effective strategy was developed to tackle the above obstacles by partitioning the channels of MOFs into confined, hydrophobic compartments by in situ polymerization of aromatic acetylenes. Specifically, polynaphthylene was formed via a radical reaction inside the channels of MOF-5 and served as partitions without altering the underlying structure of the framework. Compared with pristine MOF-5, the resultant material (PN@MOF-5) exhibits a doubled CO2 capacity (78 vs 38 cm3/g at 273 K and 1 bar), 23 times higher CO2/N2 selectivity (212 vs 9), and significantly improved moisture stability. The dynamic CO2 adsorption capacity can be largely maintained (>90%) under humid conditions during cycles. This strategy can be applied to other MOF materials and may shed light on the design of new MOF–polymer materials with tunable pore sizes and environments to promote their practical applications.