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Microfluidic Printing-Induced Dynamic Splitting of Conductive MOF to Expose High-Density Active Sites for Boosted CO2
Jiao-Na Yue1, Ying Wang1, Jie Meng1
1Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science of Shaanxi Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, P. R. China.
A new microfluidic printing method rapidly creates ultrathin conductive metal-organic frameworks (cMOFs) for efficient electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2RR). This scalable technique enhances catalyst active sites, boosting CO2 conversion for carbon recycling.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2RR) is crucial for carbon recycling, but scalable synthesis of well-defined catalysts is a significant hurdle.
- Existing methods for conductive metal-organic frameworks (cMOFs) often lack scalability and precise structural control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a rapid, scalable microfluidic printing strategy for the dynamic splitting and directional construction of cMOFs.
- To investigate the impact of microfluidic processing on cMOF structure and its performance in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microfluidic channels to induce shear forces from laminar flow, controlling cMOF crystallization.
- Investigated the suppression of interlayer interactions and promotion of 2D in-plane crystallization.
- Characterized the resulting ultrathin lamellar cMOF structures (MF-cMOF Qx/ty) and compared them to conventional synthesis (ST-cMOF).
Main Results:
- Microfluidic processing yielded ripple-like ultrathin lamellar cMOFs (11-2 nm thickness) with preferentially exposed (001) planes in minutes.
- The optimized MF-cMOF Q1.28/t5 demonstrated a high yield (0.29 g h-1) and space-time yield (502 kg m-3 day-1), a 282-fold enhancement over conventional methods.
- MF-cMOF Q1.28/t5 achieved a methane Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 79.6% at -1.2 V vs. RHE, outperforming conventional cMOFs by 1.8 times.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidic printing is an effective strategy for producing structurally defined MOFs with enhanced properties.
- The developed method enables sustainable and industrially scalable CO2 electroreduction, offering a promising route for carbon recycling.
- Ultrathin lamellar cMOFs with increased active site density significantly enhance reactivity for CO2RR.
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