Mg-MOF-74 crystals were successfully prepared in 1 h by a sonochemical method (Mg-MOF-74(S)) after triethylamine (TEA) was added as a deprotonating agent. Mg-MOF-74(S) (1640 m 2 g À1 BET surface area) displayed similar textural properties to those of a high-quality MOF sample synthesized in 24 h by the solvothermal method (Mg-MOF-74(C), 1525 m 2 g À1 ). However, mesopores were formed, probably due to the competitive binding of TEA to Mg 2+ ions, and the average particle size of the former (ca. 0.6 mm) was significantly smaller than that of the latter (ca. 14 mm). The H 2 O adsorption capacity was 593 mL g À1 at 298 K for Mg-MOF-74(S), displaying higher hydrophilicity than Zeolite 13X. The adsorption isotherms of Mg-MOF-74(S) for CO 2 showed high adsorption capacity (350 mg g À1 at 298 K) and high isosteric heats of adsorption for CO 2 (42 to 22 kJ mol À1 ). The breakthrough experiment confirmed excellent selectivity to CO 2 over N 2 at ambient conditions (saturation capacity of ca. 179 mg g À1 ). Ten consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles at 298 K established no deterioration of the adsorption capacity, which showed reversible adsorbent regeneration at 323 K under helium flow for a total duration of 1400 min. Mg-MOF-74(S) also demonstrated excellent catalytic performance in cycloaddition of CO 2 to styrene oxide under relatively mild reaction conditions (2.0 MPa, 373 K) with close to 100% selectivity to carbonate, which was confirmed by GC-MS, 1 H-NMR, and FT-IR. Mg-MOF-74(S) could be reused 3 times without losing catalytic activity and with no structural deterioration.

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Capacitive deionization (CDI) can remove ionic contaminants from water. However, concentrations of background ions in water are usually much higher than target contaminants, and existing CDI electrodes have no designed selectivity toward specific contaminants. In this study, we demonstrate a selective CDI process tailored for removal of SO using activated carbon electrodes modified with a thin, quaternary amine functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) (QPVA) coating containing submicron sized sulfate selective ion exchange resin particles. The resin/QPVA coating exhibited strong selectivity for SO at Cl: SO concentration ratios up to 20:1 by enabling preferential transport of SO through the coating, but had no negative impact on the electrosorption kinetics when the coating thickness was small. The cationic nature of the coating also significantly improved the charge efficiency and consequently the total salt adsorption capacity of the electrode by 42%. The resin/QPVA coated CDI system was stable, showing highly reproducible performance in more than 50 adsorption and desorption cycles. This work suggests that addition of selective ion exchange resins on the surface of a carbon electrode could be a generally applicable approach to achieve selective removal of target ions in a CDI process.

CuBTC (Copper(II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) is one of the most well characterized and widely studied metal organic framework (MOF) structures for potential use in industrial applications due to its relatively easy synthesis and excellent textural and physicochemical properties. In this comprehensive review, a different perspective on MOF materials for future sustainability is presented by critically examining the recent works that have considered the synthesis and adsorption/catalytic applications of CuBTC as a model case.