Hierarchical large-pore MOFs templated from poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene diblock copolymer with tuneable pore sizes

Diblock copolymer poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(styrene) (PEO-b-PS) was adopted to template the synthesis of hierarchically porous Ce-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the first time. By extending the synergistic effect of Hofmeister ions and soft templates into the water-rich system, UiO-66 type Ce-MOFs with a mesopore size of about 15 nm were achieved. Mesopore size could be further tuned up to approximately 23 nm upon introducing 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene to the micelle core of PEO-b-PS.