Large-Scale Self-Assembly of MOFs Colloidosomes for Bubble-Propelled Micromotors and Stirring-Free Environmental Remediation

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Nov 14;61(46):e202211163. doi: 10.1002/anie.202211163. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

Abstract

The design of MOF-based micromotors (MOFtors) is still challenging and with limited approaches, especially for the MOF nanoparticles (NPs). Herein, we report a universal and straightforward strategy to efficiently self-assembly MOF NPs into robust MOFtors for enhanced organic- or heavy-metal-ion-contaminants remediation without mechanical stirring. Based on the transient Pickering emulsion method, Fe3 O4 @NH2 -UiO-66 (Fe-UiO) NPs are rapidly self-assembled into Fe3 O4 @NH2 -UiO-66 colloidosomes (Fe-UiOSomes) on a large scale, and the formation mechanism is systematically studied. The Fe-UiOSomes-Pt micromotors through chemical reduction (Micromotor-C) presented a higher motility of 450±180 μm s-1 in a 5 wt% H2 O2 aqueous solution. Finally, the bubble-propelled Micromotor-C was employed to efficiently remove dyes and heavy metal ions (94 % for MO and 91 % for CrVI ).

Keywords: Bubble-Propelled; Metal-Organic Framework; Micromotors; Pickering Emulsion; Water Purification.