Synthesis of pore-expanded mesoporous ZIF-8/silica composites in the presence of swelling agent

The synthesis of mesoporous zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/silica composites with foam-like structure templated by Pluronic P123 ( EO 20 PO 70 EO 20 ) block copolymer surfactant in the presence of swelling agent was demonstrated in this study. It was found that 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene was a suitable swelling agent, which worked effectively in the pluronic-P123-templated synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/silica composites when a moderate amount was added. The pore diameter of the foams in resulting composites increased to 50–60 nm when the 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene /P123 weight ratio of 3/4 was used during the synthesis. In addition, the composite with enlarged diameter of foams showed superior adsorption capacity to phthalic acid (H 2 -PA) at 20 °C in comparison with aggregated bulk zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. Graphical Abstract