Multifunctional Plasmonic/Metal-Organic Framework Biohybrid Aerogels

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable properties for various applications.
• Developing multifunctional materials with combined sensing and antimicrobial capabilities is a key challenge.
• Aerogels provide high surface area and porosity, beneficial for material performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate self-supporting MOF aerogels using a biotemplated in situ growth method.
• To integrate plasmonic nanostructures with MOFs for enhanced functionalities.
• To demonstrate the dual capability of these hybrid aerogels for sensing and antimicrobial applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and collagen foam as biotemplates for MOF growth.
• Employed a one-step synthesis for uniform coating of ZIF-8 and ZIF-L MOF crystals.
• Incorporated plasmonic nanostructures into the MOF aerogel matrix.

Main Results:

• Achieved interconnected 3D open porous MOF aerogels with uniform crystal distribution.
• Demonstrated highly sensitive vapor-phase detection of toxic volatile organics (TVOs) via SERS.
• Exhibited significant antibacterial efficacy (>99%) against E. coli and S. aureus through photothermal effects and ion release.

Conclusions:

• The biotemplated method successfully created multifunctional plasmonic/MOF hybrid aerogels.
• These aerogels exhibit synergistic sensing and antimicrobial properties.
• The scalable method can be applied to develop advanced 3D porous materials for diverse applications.