A multifunctional ZnO-ZIF-8/bamboo composite with enhanced adsorption capacity and improved flame retardancy

ABSTRACT

Construction of metal oxide nanoparticles on ZIF-8 has produced many novel hybrid materials with interesting properties, of which ZnO-ZIF-8 is a typical representative. However, due to the powdered crystalline state of ZnO-ZIF-8 hybrid materials, their processability and handling remain a significant challenge. In this work, a multifunctional ZnO-ZIF-8/bamboo composite was successfully fabricated through in-situ growth of spherical ZnO-ZIF-8 hybrid nanoparticles within natural bamboo substrates. At a 6.8 wt% ZnO-ZIF-8 loading, the resulting composite displays highly removal efficiency up to 97.6% for methylene blue (MB) and the adsorption capacity can reach 226.7 mg·g⁻¹ at 298 K. The MB removal efficiency dropped to 96.0% after five cycles, revealing the composite exhibited an excellent recyclability. Furthermore, the introduction of ZnO-ZIF-8 remarkably enhanced the thermal stability and flame retardancy of the natural bamboo. Compared with the untreated natural bamboo, the peak of heat release rate of the ZnO-ZIF-8/bamboo composite exhibited a drastic decline by 61.6% from 45.3 W·g⁻¹ to 17.4 W·g⁻¹ and the total heat release from 7.6 kJ·g⁻¹ to 4.4 kJ·g⁻¹. This work offers a new avenues for designing and constructing functionalized MOFs@bamboo composite that may boost their environmental- and green building-related applications.

KEYWORDS:

• ZnO
• ZIF-8
• metal–organic frameworks
• bamboo-based composite
• adsorption properties
• flame retardancy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers. 31860188).