• Kim, Minjun
• Guselnikova, Olga
• Švorčík, Václav
• Ivanov, Alexey A.
• Resnati, Giuseppe
• Ivanov, Daniil M.
• Semyonov, Oleg
• Mamontov, Georgy V.
• Yamauchi, Yusuke
• Gulyaev, Roman
• Postnikov, Pavel S.

Abstract

<p>Halogen bonding (HaB) is a weak interaction that assists in the recognition of nucleophilic molecules. However, HaB elements are currently under-investigated as a part of functional materials in separation science. Herein, we develop a novel approach for introducing HaB elements into UiO-66 to fine-tune the adsorption properties toward chlorobenzenes (CBs). A series of UiO-66 containing various contents of 2-iodoterephtalic acid (I-TA) (0%, 33%, 50%, 67%, and 100%) was prepared, characterized, and applied for the selective removal of CB contaminants from nonchlorinated aromatic analogues that cannot be separated by common distillation. Investigation of the structure-property relationship revealed that the highest adsorption capacity was achieved in the case of UiO-66 loaded with 50% I-TA (UiO-66-I_opt), and this was attributed to the balance between the number of HaB elements and the surface area of the UiO-66 structure. According to density functional theory calculations, the formation of a conjugate between dichlorobenzene and UiO-66-I_opt was more energetically favorable (up to 1.7 kcal/mol) than that of the corresponding conjugate with UiO-66. The formation of HaBs was experimentally verified by UV-vis, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. To obtain functional materials for separation applications, waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used as a support and feedstock for the surface-assisted growth of UiO-66-I_opt. The as-prepared PET@UiO-66-I_opt exhibited a close-to-perfect selectivity and reusability for the separation of a wide range of CBs from nonchlorinated aromatic analogues.</p>

Topics

• density
• impedance spectroscopy
• surface
• theory
• density functional theory
• distillation