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Home » October 24, 2011 Issue » Science & Technology » Concentrates » MOFs Sop Up Oil
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October 24, 2011
Volume 89, Number 43
p. 37

MOFs Sop Up Oil

Fluorinated metal-organic framework materials selectively adsorb hydrocarbons

Bethany Halford

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Topics Covered

metal, organic framework, oil spill, hydrocarbon

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Two metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) capable of soaking up n-hexane, cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and p-xylene could be used to clean up oil spills more efficiently than currently used adsorbents. That’s because, unlike activated carbon, organoclays, or porous zeolites, the new materials don’t adsorb water. Researchers led by Mohammad A. Omary of the University of North Texas developed the frameworks, dubbed fluorous MOFs, or FMOFs, for the fluorine atoms that line their surface and make them hydrophobic (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja208408n). The two structures reported by Omary’s team, FMOF-1 and FMOF-2, are made of silver ions and trifluoromethyl-bearing triazolate ligands. Through a combination of hydrophobicity and capillary action, the materials selectively adsorb C6 to C8 hydrocarbons and shun water, making them promising materials for cleaning up spills and storing organics.

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society
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