Milling-Induced Defect Engineering of Zr-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks and Its Catalytic Applications

Georgina P. Robertson; Emily V. Shaw; Florencia A. Son; Celia Castillo-Blas; Bethan Turner; James M. A. Steele; Christopher A. O’Keefe; Kirill A. Lomachenko; Angelika D. Rosa; Daniel J. M. Irving; Michael F. Thorne; Alice M. Bumstead; Omar K. Farha; Lauren N. McHugh; David A. Keen; Philip A. Chater; Thomas D. Bennett

doi:10.1021/acsami.5c20312

journal article·2026-02-11

Milling-Induced Defect Engineering of Zr-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks and Its Catalytic Applications

Georgina P. Robertson, Emily V. Shaw, Florencia A. Son, Celia Castillo-Blas, Bethan Turner, James M. A. Steele, Christopher A. O’Keefe, Kirill A. Lomachenko, Angelika D. Rosa, Daniel J. M. Irving, Michael F. Thorne, Alice M. Bumstead, Omar K. Farha, Lauren N. McHugh, David A. Keen, Philip A. Chater, Thomas D. Bennett

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 18· Issue 5

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Source abstract

Abstract

Defect engineering of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been shown to impact many properties of these porous structures, including affecting the accessible pore volume as well as introducing additional active sites to modify the catalytic activity of the frameworks. However, this defect engineering has previously primarily been carried out through synthesis-based methods. Ball-milling of the frameworks presents an alternative method for the introduction of defects, which has not been largely investigated for its effects on catalysis. The complex pressure states experienced during milling result in property changes, both enhancing and diminishing defect accessibility, necessitating a detailed investigation. This work characterizes three Zirconium-based MOFs (UiO-66, MOF-808, and NU-1000), using total scattering X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis to investigate their collapse and defect introduction during all stages of ball-milling. It then assesses the utility of ball-milling UiO-66 to different extents as a method for improving catalytic abilities within two reactions, the formation of propargylamine, and the conversion of glucose to fructose. The mechanical amorphization of UiO-66 led to either an increase or a decrease in catalytic ability depending on the milling time and the reaction investigated.

Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

Catalysis & surfaces

OpenAlex topics: Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications · Mesoporous Materials and Catalysis · Zeolite Catalysis and Synthesis

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38000, France

Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0FS, U.K.

Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, Madrid 28049, Spain

Department of Chemistry and International Institute of Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States

Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K.

Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

University of Cambridge

Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.

Diamond Light Source Ltd, Diamond House, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, U.K.

ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, U.K.

School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Julius von Haast Building, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand

Funding

Leverhulme Trust · Comunidad de Madrid · Science and Technology Facilities Council

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