A facile and efficient method in creating polymer brushes on MOF pariticles and membranes is published in Polymer Chemistry
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are extremely promising candidates for application in diverse fields. However, a limitation to the widespread use of MOFs is the absence of a facile and efficient chemical modification method which can greatly improve their poor processability and stability without altering the inherent outstanding chemical and physical properties. Herein, we report a universal post-synthetic modification strategy by directly forming polymer brushes on MOF surface without any premodification or immobilization of initiators via UV-induced photopolymerization. The method is applicable to a series of representative MOFs, allowing the creation of polymer brushes on the exterior surface of nanoMOFs and MOF membranes. Characterization of the polymer brushes indicates a high grafting density of grafted polymer chains, thus endowing MOFs with improved thermal/chemical stabilities with the inner chemical structure and porosity intact. Moreover, the polymer modification facilitates an efficient removal of organic dyes from water solutions.