(384e) Fabrication of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) - Uio-66 Mixed Matrix Membranes for Water Desalination and Ion-Transport Studies

Over the last 2 decades, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained popularity in fields ranging from sensing, catalysis, separation to drug delivery due to their exceptionally high specific surface area and tunable porosity. However, the brittle nature of MOFs inhibits their solution processability which limits their industrial applications. To overcome this challenge, composites of MOFs with polymers have been synthesized to introduce flexibility into the final structure. Nonetheless, the existing methods such as physical blending, electrospinning, and surface coating can result in MOF particle aggregation and poor interaction between MOF and polymer. The rapid growth of MOFs with polymer present in solution has paved a way to fabricate composites with improved homogeneity and enhanced MOF-polymer interaction. However, the majority of the studies have focused on copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cobalt (Co) based MOFs which are not stable under harsh acidic and basic environments, or at high temperatures. In this regard, zirconium (Zr) based MOFs have been desired due to their high thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability in order to be used for a wide range of applications.

In this study, we report the synthesis of a MOF – polymer composite based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and a Zr-based MOF, UiO-66. The PVA-UiO-66 composite was fabricated by synthesizing UiO-66 with polymers present in solution. The powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) confirms the formation of UiO-66 crystals while scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) reveals the homogeneous distribution of UiO-66 crystals into the PVA matrix. Furthermore, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis demonstrates the porous nature of the PVA-UiO-66 composite. Overall, the results show the successful synthesis of PVA – UiO-66 mixed-matrix membranes. In the future, the PVA-UiO-66 membranes will be used for water desalination and ion-transport studies.