Photocatalytic membranes based on Cu-NH-MIL-125(Ti) protected by poly(vinylidene fluoride) for high and stable hydrogen production.

A porous, photocatalytically active, and water-stable composite membrane has been developed based on Cu-NH-MIL-125(Ti), a titanium-based metal-organic framework (MOF) and PVDF polymeric matrix. To tune the structural and functional properties of the PVDF/MOF composites, the loading degree of the MOF within the polymer was systematically varied. The most effective performance of the composite material was achieved with a 10% wt/wt loading of MOF into the PVDF matrix.

A new strategy for PET depolymerization: Application of bimetallic MOF-74 as a selective catalyst.

Large-volume production of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), especially in the form of bottles and food packaging containers, causes problems with polymer waste management. Waste PET could be recycled thermally, mechanically or chemically and the last method allows to obtain individual monomers, but most often it is carried out in the presence of homogeneous catalysts, that are difficult to separate and reuse. In view of this, this work reports for the first time, application of bimetallic MOF-74 - as heterogeneous catalyst - for depolymerization of PET with high monomer (bishydroxyethyl terephthalate, BHET) recovery.