Construction of heterogeneous MOF-on-MOF for highly efficient gaseous iodine sequestration under static conditions

Considering the unexpected nuclear power waste emission and potential nuclear leakage, the exploration of robust materials for the effective capture and storage of radioactive iodine is of great importance but still remains a challenge. In this work, we report the rational synthesis of functionalized NH₂-UiO-66-on-ZIF-67 architecture to enhance the static adsorption and retention of volatile iodine. Such MOF-on-MOF heterostructures was fabricated through seeding ZIF-67 core on the surface of NH₂-UiO-66 satellite via a facile polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) regulated internal extended growth strategies. NH₂-UiO-66-on-ZIF-67 exhibited unique core-satellite structure, which significantly promotes the binding interactions with iodine through synergizing of the N-rich imidazole moieties and surface functionalized amino groups within the porosity channels. As a result, the as fabricated NH₂-UiO-66-on-ZIF-67 achieves enhanced mass diffusion and high capture capacity of 3600 mg/g for iodine vapor under static sorption conditions. Moreover, water vapor in humid conditions (relative humidity of 18 %) has almost no effect on the static iodine adsorption performance of the material. This study sheds light on a reliable MOF-on-MOF hybrid strategy for effective radioiodine treatment to ensure the safety nuclear waste management.