Synthesis of hierarchical micro/mesoporous structures via solid-aqueous interface growth: Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 on siliceous mesocellular foams for enhanced pervaporation of water/ethanol mixtures

A new hierarchical micro/mesoporous composite is synthesized via direct growth of microporous zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) on siliceous mesocellular foams (MCF). Depending on different synthetic conditions, ZIF-8 with two different particle sizes, i.e., ZIF-8 microparticles and ZIF-8 nanoparticles, were successfully formed on the external surface of amine-functionalized MCF (denoted as microZIF-8@MCF and nanoZIF-8@MCF, respectively). The synthesized hierarchical micro/mesoporous ZIF-8@MCF structures were characterized with several spectroscopic techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state NMR, and FT-IR and electron microscopic techniques (scanning electron microscope, SEM, and transmission electron microscopy, TEM). In addition, the pervaporation measurements of the liquid water/ethanol mixture show that nanoZIF-8@MCF/PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol) mixed-matrix membrane exhibits enhanced performance both on the permeability and separation factor. Compared to conventional routes for chemical etching, this study demonstrates a promising and simple strategy for synthesizing novel hierarchical porous composites exhibiting both advantages of mesoporous materials and microporous materials, which is expected to be useful for gas adsorption, separation, and catalysis.