Effects of Washing and Drying on Crystal Structure and Pore Size Distribution (PSD) of Zn4O13C24H12 Framework (IRMOF-1)

In this study, the effects of various methods of washing and drying of MOF-5 nanocrystals on structure formation were investigated. Eight samples of MOF-5 were synthesized under different conditions. TGA, XRD and PSD analysis were applied to characterize of the samples. The methods of washing and drying were found to be important in determining the final structure of MOF-5s. MOF-5 with high BET surface area can be obtained by choosing a suitable method of washing and drying. According to the results obtained in this work, it was found that vacuum drying at 425 degrees C is sufficient to dissolve the MOF-5-DMF. Similar results were obtained by washing method (with CH2Cl2 and CHCl3), when compared with vacuum drying at 425 degrees C according to XRD test. The pore size distribution of samples 1-5 and 8 were calculated by SHN1 method and results showed that the samples in which solvent vacuum was DMF, have lower pore volume, uniform pore size distribution and the pore size are smaller than samples 3, 4 and 8. It was also found that activated MOF-5 can be converted to its deactivated form prior to drying of the samples.