Engineering ZIF-67 loaded nanofibrous membrane with thermal stabilization treatment for efficient photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

The photocatalytic Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) membrane addresses challenges faced by MOF powders in practical applications such as aggregation and difficult recovery, but its current application is mainly confined to wastewater treatment. Expanding the application of MOFs membranes to CO₂ reduction could unleash their greater potential in energy conversion and storage field. In this study, ZIF-67 was deposited on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber membranes (NFMs) using an in-situ growth technique, followed by thermal stabilization to produce SZIF-67/PAN NFMs for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. ZIF-67 was uniformly and densely distributed on the NFMs, with a mass loading of up to 8 wt%. The thermal stabilization process significantly enhanced the photothermal conversion capability and solvent resistance of the NFMs, enabling SZIF-67/PAN NFMs to exhibit outstanding photocatalytic activity even under mild environmental conditions, with a remarkable CO generation rate of 39,250 μmol g⁻¹h⁻¹. Furthermore, the performance remained at 70 % even after five consecutive tests. This study presents a novel and effective method for preparing MOF NFMs with excellent photocatalytic CO₂ reduction performance, offering valuable insights for advancing the practical application of MOF materials. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.