Yan She, Weikang Han, Huajian Liu, Guixin Hu, Huiyue Wang, Xueying Wen, Lijie Liu, Lingling Feng, Xinyao Zhang, Jiang Gong*
Trace solvents-assisted mechanochemistry of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) into MIL-53Al for efficient hydroelectricity generation
Chemical Engineering Journal (2025) Accept. (IF2024 = 13.4)
Upcycling of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) into metal-organic framework (MOF) has emerged as a new approach for the low-cost, sustainable synthesis of MOF. However, previous strategies suffer from high pressure/temperature, huge amounts of organic solvents, and/or low crystalline structure/specific surface area of MOF. Herein, we report the trace solvent-assisted two-step ball milling strategy to convert waste PET into MIL-53Al with high specific surface area. The type and dosage of organic solvents are key for the growth of MIL-53Al. N,N-dimethylformamide not only acts as a good molecular template during the ball milling process to improve the crystalline structure of MIL-53Al, but also stabilizes the framework structure of MIL-53Al to enhance the specific surface area (590 m2 g-1). Furthermore, the MIL-53Al-based hydroelectric generator achieves high output voltage (270 mV), thus ranking as one of most efficient generators. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that the nanochannels in the device are ion-selective, resulting in the faster migration of Cl- than Na+. This work presents a new opportunity for the massive, green production of MOF from waste polyesters and contributes to the development of advanced hydroelectric generators.