Catalytic degradation is a potent solution for treating wastewater polluted with organic substances. Recently, due to their vast surface area, adjustable pore structure, and abundance of active sites, Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have become a new type of catalyst for removing organic pollutants. However, many of the reported MOFs composite materials face challenges in scalability, water stability, and recyclability, hindering their broad and sustainable industrial applications. Therefore, combining MOFs with carrier materials to construct new functionalized MOFs devices can enhance performance and expand their practical applications.

    To this end, a team led by researcher Wang Xiaolong from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated with Associate Professor Zhou Lincheng's team from Lanzhou University. Leveraging the advantages of 3D printing in constructing complex devices and freedom in design, they developed 3D printed MOFs modified porous ceramic catalyst materials and devices for catalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water (Figure 1).

Figure.1 3D printing MOFs-loaded porous ceramics and catalytically degraded organic matter polluted water treatment

    The resultant MOFs-loaded porous ceramics, with a multi-scale porous structure encompassing nano, micro, and millimeter scales, exhibited excellent catalytic performance towards simulated organic pollutants like Methylene blue (MB), Rhodamine B (Rh B), Malachite green (MG), and Crystal violet (CV). This was due to their high surface area, favorable permeability, and efficient water treatment capability. Utilizing the advantages of 3D printing in design and manufacturing, the researchers optimized the structure and catalytic performance of the ceramic catalyst material. Additionally, they conveniently developed various types of catalytic reaction devices using 3D printing technology, such as the 3D printed catalytic filter and impeller mixer shown in Figure 3. The resultant devices showed excellent organic dye catalytic degradation performance and reusability, indicating the potential and significance of 3D printed MOFs modified porous catalytic materials and devices in practical wastewater treatment.

Figure.3 3D printing MOFs@ porous ceramic catalytic filter, impeller stirrer and application demonstration

    The aforementioned findings were recently published in the international journal Chemical Engineering Journal (DOI:10.1016/j.cej.2020.125392). The co-first authors of the paper are Master's student Liu Desheng from Lanzhou University and Ph.D. student Jiang Pan from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics. The corresponding authors are Associate Professor Zhou Lincheng from Lanzhou University and researcher Wang Xiaolong from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation and the Gansu Provincial Major Special Science and Technology Plan.

This article was sourced from the WeChat public account "catalysis".