Facile Synthesis of a Metal-Organic Framework for Removal of Methyl Blue from Water: First-Year Undergraduate Teaching Lab

Abstract

A laboratory experiment that involves the synthesis, characterization, and application exploration of a metal-organic framework (MOF) has been developed for first-year undergraduates in the Faculty of Engineering at National University of Singapore. The desired MOF material was prepared from commercially available reagents in a facile stirring-assisted synthetic method with minimal safety concerns. In order to ensure that the whole experiment could be finished within a regular 3 h lab session, the corresponding commercial MOF material was used for characterization and application studies. Specifically, a powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD) was adopted to evaluate the crystallinity of the commercial MOF material. Moreover, the potential of this MOF material for real-life applications was exemplified by the ability of its commercial counterpart for the selective dye removal from aqueous solutions. This laboratory experiment offers the opportunity for instructors to introduce first-year undergraduates without a specific background in chemistry or materials science to state-of-the-art advanced porous materials, a modern characterization instrument, and the broader impacts of materials chemistry.