Water-induced synthesis of hierarchical Zr-based MOFs with enhanced adsorption capacity and catalytic activity

Abstract Hierarchical UiO-66 and its amino-analogue UiO-66-NH 2 nanocrystals were successfully synthesized by introducing a suitable amount of water into the conventional synthesis of UiO-66/UiO-66-NH 2 without the need for a chelating agent, surfactant or aging. The hierarchical porous qualities and particle sizes of the UiO-66/UiO-66-NH 2 products can be facilely tuned by the amounts of water. Hierarchical UiO-66/UiO-66-NH 2 nanocrystals exhibited significantly enhanced adsorption capacity for dyes and catalytic activity in esterification/Knoevenagel reactions compared to the microporous UiO-66/UiO-66-NH 2 . This facile synthetic strategy offers a new alternative way to prepare UiO materials with the combination of hierarchical and functional property.