POS4-1580
Mechanochemically Synthesized Defect-Rich Cu-BTC for Selective CO2 Conversion to Formic Acid
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Jinkee HONG
Ki Su KIM
Presenter(s)
Muhammad Zahid (Interdisciplinary Research Center for Refining and advanced chemicals, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Transition metal-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as highly promising catalysts for CO2 capture and selective conversion due to their exceptional physicochemical properties. Among these, defective MOFs have gained particular attention due to the ease of defect site formation and structural manipulation during synthesis, as well as their enhanced catalytic efficacy. Herein, Cu‑BTC and benzoic‑acid‑modulated Cu‑BTC (BA‑Cu‑BTC) MOFs were synthesized using an eco‑friendly mechanochemical approach, wherein benzoic acid (BA) acts as a modulator to introduce a missing‑linker defect (MLD) into the framework. The MLD sites in BA‑Cu‑BTC were comprehensively characterized by PXRD, FT‑IR, TGA, SEM‑EDX, N2 physisorption, and CO2‑TPD to comprehend bulk structural integrity, thermal stability, morphology and composition, porosity, and CO2‑adsorption properties. The MLDs-rich BA-Cu-BTC exhibited improved physicochemical properties and demonstrated high catalytic activity for the selective conversion of CO2 to formic acid (HCOOH) in alkaline conditions. Under identical reaction conditions (100 °C, 1 M KOH, 18 h), the formate ions (HCOO-) yield obviously increases from 82.7 mmol.g-1 for Cu-BTC to 243.2 mmol.g-1 for BA-Cu-BTC, corresponding to nearly a three times improvement in catalytic activity. The combined experimental results confirm that mechanochemical engineering of MLDs via incorporation of BA significantly enhances interfacial MLDs-rich Cu reactive sites, expands surface area, and introduces mesoporosity, synergistically improving the catalytic performance of BA-Cu-BTC for selective CO2 to HCOOH conversion. This study provides a new avenue for a green synthetic approach for the development of sustainable, structurally modulated, and active‑site‑rich MOFs for renewable energy and environmental applications.
