Selective removal and recovery of metal ions by metal-organic-framework

Nankawa, Takuya ; Sekine, Yurina   ; Yamada, Teppei*

Clean water resources are becoming increasingly limited and advances in toxic ion or radioactive ion removal technology are essential for dealing with the global water shortage crisis. Sorption using adsorbent materials, such as activated carbon, zeolites have been used to remove toxic ions from water. However, the ion selectivity and recovery of adsorbed ions still need to be improved to clean up water more effectively and sustainably. In this study, we synthesized metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) with a jungle gym structure composed of ligands and metals, which enables fine adjustment of the pore size at the nano level. We also tested selective removal and recovery of metal ions by using the size controlled pores of MOFs.