Zr-MOF Nanosheets Vertically Grown on Fabrics for Rapid Catalytic Elimination of Nerve Agent Simulants

The development of lightweight and wearable fabrics that can rapidly degrade chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is highly desirable. Two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets are distinguishingly attractive due to their better accessible catalytic active sites for CWAs degradation and smaller diffusion barriers compared to their three-dimensional (3D) counterparts. However, ultrathin 2D MOF nanosheets uniformly and vertically grown on fabrics remain a challenge. Herein, we have grown ultrathin 2D Zr-BTB metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets, composed of 6-connected Zr 6 O 4 (OH) 4 12+ and 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (BTB), vertically on polypropylene fabrics using a microwave-assisted solvothermal method. We have optimized the modulator, reaction temperature, and time to achieve a loading rate of up to 50%. The resulting composite fabric exhibits superior catalytic performance in degrading dimethyl methylphosphonate, a nerve agent stimulant, with half-lives of 0.77 min in bulk solution and 0.1 min in the surface contact state. This is due to the better accessible catalytic active sites and smaller diffusion barriers of the separate vertically grown 2D MOF nanosheets. The composite also shows a good filtration detoxification performance, with a single filtration detoxification rate above 88%. It demonstrates good reusability, making it competitive for environmental purification and chemical protective applications, such as gas filters, protective suits, and clothing.