A universal strategy for efficient synthesis of Zr-based MOF nanoparticles for enhanced water adsorption

Zr-based metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF) nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted extensive research thanks to their outstanding thermal and chemical stability, but their efficient synthesis is still challenging. Here, high-quality Zr-MOF NPs with tunable and uniform particle sizes can be successfully fabricated within 30 min by high-gravity technology with high yields. Significantly, the rapidly milder preparation of UiO-66 NPs can also be achieved at 90 or 70°C. This strategy has been extended to the synthesis of other Zr-MOF NPs. Furthermore, the water vapor adsorption properties of obtained UiO-66 NPs display a size-dependent effect. The 70 nm UiO-66 NPs have the highest adsorption capacity of 625 mg g −1 among unmodified UiO-66 reported so far, and manifest 2.0–2.8 times faster water adsorption rate than the micron ones. This study provides a feasible method for the efficient and mild preparation of MOFs nanoparticles, which may promote the synthesis and applications of nano-sized MOFs.