Construction of molecular fans in metal-organic framework to overcome diffusion resistance for trace benzene capture.

Hierarchical Fe-based metal-organic framework with molecular fans achieves rapid benzene capture, reducing diffusion resistance by over 70% compared to benchmarks.

• Why it matters: Efficient trace benzene removal from indoor air and industrial exhaust requires overcoming diffusion barriers in size-matched pores, a significant challenge in adsorbent design.
• What they did: Researchers synthesized ZJU-701, a stable Fe-based MOF with hierarchical micropores and molecular fans using 1,4-naphthylene rotors, measuring adsorption rate and capacity at low benzene concentrations.
• The result: ZJU-701 demonstrates a high adsorption rate constant of 5.84×10^-3 min^-1 and capacity of 2.05 mmol/g, with minimal capacity loss at increased gas velocities, enabling faster and more efficient trace benzene removal.