Scale-up processing of leaf-like zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-L)/cellulose for water treatment

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous polymeric networks with unique characteristics. Nevertheless, these materials' intrinsic fragility, powdery form, limited processibility, and delicate handling pose significant difficulties for commercial applications. Herein, we reported large-scale production and processing of nanocellulose/leaf-like zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-L), denoted as NanoCelloZIF-L, using Experimental Paper Machine (XPM). Four tanks (volume of 300 L for each tank) with a total volume of 1200 L were used to process the NanoCelloZIF-L sheet with varied weight percentages of the materials 0-30 wt%. The materials were processed with and without starch (0.3 wt%) to improve the properties of the final products. The procedure enabled a straightforward, highly efficient method that might be easily implemented for large-scale production of composite materials based on ZIFs. NanoCelloZIF-L sheets were used as an adsorbent to remove water pollutants, including heavy metals and organic dyes. They offered a 90 % adsorption efficiency for organic dyes. They can effectively remove heavy metals for single or mixed metal species, offering adsorption capacities of 460.5 mg/g with high selectivity toward Fe³⁺ ions.