Incarceration of Nanosized Silica into Porous Coordination Polymers: Preparation, Characterization, and Adsorption Property

Sol gel polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane was performed in nanochannels of porous coordination polymers (PCPs), resulting in the formation of nanosized silica dispersed homogeneously inside the channels. In this system, the growth of silica was highly constrained, which increases the hydrophilic silanol moieties on the surface of silica particles. Deposition of silica particles into the nanochannels of PCPs could allow the remarkable alternations of the porous properties of the PCPs. Compared to the original PCP systems, adsorption of water was greatly enhanced because of the strong interaction between silica and water. The PCP silica nanocomposites preferred to adsorb 1,4-dioxane rather than cydohexane, showing the remarkable affinity of PCP silica hybrids to hydrophilic molecules. It is noteworthy that pore dimensionality of PCPs have properties of PCP silica hybrids. Compared to a PCP with three-dimensional interconnecting nanochannels, a PCP with one-dimensional porous system showed more significant gate effects on selectivity for the adsorbates. large effects on the adsorption