Electrospinning UiO-66-NH2/polyacrylonitrile fibers for filtration of VOCs

The use of high-performance and low-cost electrospinning fibers to manufacture filters to remove harmful pollutants from the air has a high value in terms of commercial applications. We report the first use of electrospinning UiO-66-NH 2 /PAN fibers filter with the well-defined microporous structure to filter volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Two different VOCs, methylbenzene (MB) and ethylbenzene (EB), have been used to measure the filtration capacity of the different filters. The filtration capacity of the filter is improved with the increase of the UiO-66-NH 2 loading amount in the composites. The PAN fibers with 50 wt% UiO-66-NH 2 (U50/P) showed the highest VOC filtration capacity, which was 80.6% greater than that of pristine PAN fibers. Furthermore, the VOCs separation capacity was almost unchanged within 8 h, indicating the long-time stable protection from VOCs. The suppleness, lightness, high air permeability, and ideal VOCs exclusion rate make the UiO-66-NH 2 /PAN fibers filter promising candidates as anti-VOCs filters in the masks. By the combination of UiO-66-NH 2 with PAN, the fiber filters with high VOCs exclusion and air permeability are fabricated via electrospinning. • The UiO-66-NH 2 /PAN filters possess high VOC exclusion and air permeability. • The UiO-66-NH 2 /PAN fibers are light and flexible. • The VOCs separation capacity can be maintained within 8 h, with long-term separation stability. • The loading ratios of MOFs are optimized, and a high ratio of 41.9% is achieved. • The UiO-66-NH 2 /PAN filters are fabricated via scalable electrospinning technology.