Green Synthesis Approaches toward Preparation of ZIF-76 and Its Thermal Behavior

With the current increase of interest in amorphous MOFs and ZIFs for various applications, there is a need for optimal and environmentally friendly synthesis of the parent materials. One of the ZIFs that has received the most research to date, along with ZIF-62, is ZIF-76. ZIF-62 has already been produced mechanochemically, while the majority of ZIF-76 is currently produced using solvothermal synthesis in an autoclave with DMF as the solvent. Herein, we present two new green synthesis methods for creating a ZIF-76 framework. The mechanochemical and precipitation approaches were developed to shorten reaction times and allow for room temperature synthesis. This work represents the first step toward green synthesis of ZIF-76 and its thermally treated variants.