Textile Composite Materials based on HKUST-1 Metal-Organic Framework and Cotton or Polyethylene Terephthalate Fabrics

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are of great interest for application in sorption, catalysis, and other fields due to their unique properties and the possibility of wide variation of their structures and functional characteristics. However, the use of MOFs is limited by their powder form and difficulty of molding. Therefore, it is necessary to develop ways for additional stabilization of MOFs, in particular on the surface of primary substrates. Here we studied the formation of copper-containing metal-organic framework HKUST-1 in the structure of cotton and polyethylene terephthalate fabrics using three approaches differing in the way of introduction of copper ion precursor into the reaction mixture. Pre-impregnation of the fabrics with a solution of a metal ion precursor salt followed by assembly of MOF in an aqueous ethanol solution of trimesic acid was shown to be the optimal approach for the self-assembly of HKUST-1 on the surface of cotton and polyethylene terephthalate fabrics. The specific surface area and HKUST-1 contents in the obtained materials were 198–259 m2/g and 12–15.8 wt %, respectively. The composite based on polyethylene terephthalate fabric was shown to be more stable to mechanical impact than the cotton-based material. The applicability of HKUST-1/fabric materials was assessed in relation to static sorption of toluene vapor.