Nanosized Cu-MOFs induced by graphene oxide and enhanced gas storage capacity

Various MOFs with tailored nanoporosities have recently been developed as potential storage media for CO2 and H2. The composites based on Cu-BTC and graphene layers were prepared with different percentages of graphene oxide (GO). Through the characterization analyses and gas adsorption experiments, we found that the nanosized and well-dispersed Cu-BTC induced by the incorporation of GO greatly improved the carbon dioxide capture and hydrogen storage performance of the composites. The materials obtained exhibited about a 30% increase in CO2 and H2 storage capacity (from 6.39 mmol g−1 of Cu-BTC to 8.26 mmol g−1 of CG-9 at 273 K and 1 atm for CO2; from 2.81 wt% of Cu-BTC to 3.58 wt% of CG-9 at 77 K and 42 atm for H2). Finally, the CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities were calculated according to single-component gas sorption experiment data.