One-pot growth of metal-organic frameworks on polymers for catalytic performance enhancement in the CO2 cycloaddition to epoxides.

A novel approach is reported to prepare 3D-printed polymers that incorporate metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) through a one-pot growth process, involving covalent grafting and growth onto 3D polymeric surfaces. The resulting hybrid materials were subjected to comprehensive characterization using techniques such as SEM, XRD, FTIR, Raman, and XPS. The findings demonstrated an excellent dispersion of the inorganic units on the polymer matrix while preserving their metal-organic structure. The hybrid materials exhibited the presence of Lewis acid and basic groups within the MOF. The catalytic performance of these hybrid materials was evaluated in the mild cycloaddition reaction of carbon dioxide (CO 2) to epoxides. Notably, the polymers incorporating UiO-67 MOFs displayed remarkable activity, even at low CO 2 pressures and in the absence of auxiliary co-catalysts or additives. The catalytic activity of these hybrid materials exhibited a significant improvement, up to two orders of magnitude higher than analogous bulk MOFs. This observation highlights the superior performance of the 3D-printed polymer/MOF hybrids in this catalytic transformation. • The surface of 3D-printed polymers allowed the growth of MOF-like active phases. • The study of the MOF-polymer interface is done by FTIR, XRD, SEM, Raman, and XPS. • Varying degrees of defects in MOFs are found depending on the growth method. • Compared to bulk MOFs, catalytic activity is increased two orders of magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]