Aramid nanofibers supported metal-organic framework aerogel for protection of chemical warfare agent

Nan Jiang; Hongyan Liu; Guodong Zhao; Heyi Li; Shuo Yang; Xianlin Xu; Xupin Zhuang; Bowen Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.02.105

Aramid nanofibers supported metal-organic framework aerogel for protection of chemical warfare agent

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jun 15:640:192-198. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.02.105. Epub 2023 Feb 24.

Authors

Nan Jiang¹, Hongyan Liu², Guodong Zhao¹, Heyi Li¹, Shuo Yang³, Xianlin Xu¹, Xupin Zhuang⁴, Bowen Cheng⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, PR China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, PR China. Electronic address: zhxupin@tiangong.edu.cn.
⁵ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, PR China. Electronic address: bowenc15@tust.edu.cn.

PMID: 36863176
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.02.105

Abstract

Protective fabrics containing Zr-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks (Zr-MOFs) show great potential in the detoxification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). However, the current studies still face the challenges of complicated fabrication processes, limited MOF loading mass, and insufficient protection. Herein, we developed a lightweight, flexible and mechanical robust aerogel by in situ growth of UiO-66-NH₂ onto aramid nanofibers (ANFs) and assembly of UiO-66-NH₂ loaded ANFs (UiO-66-NH₂@ANFs) into 3D hierarchically porous architecture. The UiO-66-NH₂@ANF aerogels feature high MOF loading of 261 %, high surface area of 589.349 m² g^-1, open and interconnected cellular structure, which provide efficient transfer channels and promote catalytic degradation of CWAs. As a result, the UiO-66-NH₂@ANF aerogels demonstrate high 2-chloroethyl ethyl thioether (CEES) removal rate at 98.9 % and a short half-life of 8.15 min. Moreover, the aerogels present good mechanical stability (recovery rate of 93.3 % after 100 cycles under 30 % strain), low thermal conductivity (λ of 25.66 mW m^-1 K^-1), high flame resistance (LOI of 32 %) and good wearing comfortableness, indicating promising potential in multifunctional protection against CWAs.

Keywords: Aramid nanofibers; CEES; Metal-organic frame materials; Self-degradation; Thermal insulation.