CO oxidation is one of the most extensively investigated reactions in the field of heterogeneous catalysis because of its importance in both environmental protection and fundamental studies.
Three-dimensional (3D) printing was applied for the fabrication of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) framework. Functionalization of the ABS framework was then performed by coating of porous Cu-BTC (BTC = benzene tricarboxylic acid) metal-organic frameworks on it using a step-by-step in-situ growth. The size of the Cu-BTC particles on ABS was ranged from 200[emsp14]nm to 900[emsp14]nm. The Cu-BTC/ABS framework can take up most of the space of the tubular reactor that makes the adsorption effective with no need of stirring. Methylene blue (MB) can be readily removed from aqueous solution by this Cu-BTC/ABS framework. The MB removal efficiency for solutions with concentrations of 10 and 5[emsp14]mg/L was 93.3% and 98.3%, respectively, within 10[emsp14]min. After MB adsorption, the Cu-BTC/ABS composite can easily be recovered without the need for centrifugation or filtration and the composite is reusable. In addition the ABS framework can be recovered for subsequent reuse. A significant advantage of 3D-printed frameworks is that different frameworks can be easily fabricated to meet the needs of different applications. This is a promising strategy to synthesize new frameworks using MOFs and polymers to develop materials for applications beyond adsorption.