Synthesis and structural characterization of a cerium-based mixed-metal organic framework for enhanced gas adsorption potential

Mixed-metal metal-organic frameworks (MM-MOFs) have recently emerged as effective adsorbents for gaseous fuels owing to their adjustable pore sizes and enhanced surface areas. In this work, a MM-MOF namely Cerium-Copper-Benzene-1,3,5-Tricarboxylic acid MM_MOF (Ce-Cu-T) was synthesized and characterized to evaluate its adsorption potential in comparison with previously studied Cerium-Benzene-1,4-Dicarboxylic acid MOF(Ce-D). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis showed improvement in the mixed metal framework which demonstrated a surface area of 284.36 m²/g. This value corresponds to an approximately 280% increase compared to the 74.6374 m²/g measured for the Ce-D. Improvement was also shown in the material’s porosity as the MM-MOF's average pore size was found to be 2.4706 nm which is approximately 95% reduction compared to the 54.86 nm pore diameter of the Ce-D. The mesoporous nature and the quality of the material were also confirmed through detailed structural analysis. These better structural characteristics with a larger surface area along with a smaller pore structure suggest that the Ce-Cu-T holds a superior potential for gaseous fuel adsorption. The findings suggest that the mesoporous structure of Ce-Cu-T provides a favourable basis for potential adsorption based fuel storage applications.