Synthesis and characterization of hybrid nanocomposite core (polymer)-shell metal-organic frame-works based on SAN, Zn and Al nanoparticles

The core-shell porous polymer-metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid nanostructures exhibit unique characteristics compared to traditional core-shell nanocomposites, especially in terms of synthesis strategy, structural integration, functionality, and performance. The crucial innovations of the calcination step and carboxylic acid activation set these hybrids apart from previous polymer-MOF composites, which often relied on weak electrostatic interactions or complex covalent functionalization. This study aims to improve industrial scalability by utilizing commercial monomers and simple radical polymerization with advanced MOF hybrid design. Therefore, radical copolymerization was utilized to produce spherical polymer nanoparticles(NPs) with a narrow size distribution. This method offers several specific advantages such as mild reaction conditions, simplicity, scalability, control over particle size and morphology, and the potential for functionalization. To create copolymer@Zn-MOF-74 and MIL-53(Al) core-shell hybrid nanocomposites, an in-situ hydrothermal synthetic approach followed by calcination was employed. The resulting structures were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, x-ray diffraction and flourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The incorporation of ZnO NPs into styrene-acrylonitrile(SAN) has shown potential benefits, particularly in enhancing thermal stability without compromising the chemical structure or crystalline properties of the polymer. These findings suggest that SAN composites with ZnO NPs could be developed for applications that require improved thermal performance while maintaining mechanical integrity. Future research could focus on optimizing nanoparticle loading, exploring other types of NPs, and investigating their effects on additional physical properties a like elastic strength and impact resistance.