Enhancing the Water Sorption Kinetics and Thermophysical Properties of Zirconium Metal-Organic Frameworks for More Efficient Sorption-Driven Applications

Metal-Oganic Frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for water-sorption driven applications. However, developing MOFs with high heat transfer capabilities for more efficient temperature-actuated water sorption systems remains a great challenge. Therefore, this work describes a scalable and processable approach for integrating MOFs with graphene nanoplatelets to produce MOF-801/graphene nanoplatelets composite. The developed composite materials were then characterized in terms of water adsorption isotherms, kinetics, density and thermal diffusivity. Results showed that the composite material has similar porosity and water vapor uptake with only a reduction of 5.4% from the maximum water uptake compared to neat MOF but with a significantly higher water kinetics and cyclic performance compared to the neat MOF. The approach described in this work will greatly allow the practical use of such composites for different applications such as water harvesting and heat pumps applications with a minimal energy consumption, higher performance and a much more energy-efficient strategy. With applying the MOF composite in adsorption cooling and desalination system, results showed an enhancement of more than 40% in the MOF/graphene composite compared to the neat MOF.