Preparation of Bimetallic Metal-Organic Framework Derived from Spherical Ni-Co Glycerate Template

Abstract

Bimetallic Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have attracted significant interest due to its high specific surface area and tunable porosity, leading to high sensitivity and catalytic activity. Amorphous MOF presents many opportunities as new functional materials especially in electrochemical applications. In this preliminary study, we explored the preparation, properties, and applications of amorphous MOF. It studies on the characteristics of Ni/Co-MOF synthesized through self-template using uniform Ni-Co glycerate spheres. Nickel and cobalt are active electrode materials with similar properties and atomic radius, and have much possible coordination with ligands so that they can be found in many types of MOFs. In this work Ni-Co Glycerate, produced in powder form, was used as the source of metal ions, 2-methylimidazole (H-MeIM) as the ligand, as well as aquabidest and ethanol as the solvents. The MOF was produced in two-step processes i.e. glycerate formation with solvothermal and MOF formation at room temperature. From the XRD test, no peak was observed, showing that the Ni/Co-MOF is in an amorphous phase. The results of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis showed that the Ni/Co-MOF has spherical shape covered by nanosheets, confirming the amorphous state.