Photo-accelerated Hydrolysis of Metal Organic Framework ZIF-8

The stability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is of particular importance to their applications. It has been believed that light does not affect the stability of zeolitic-imidazolate-framework-8 (ZIF-8), one of the most stable MOFs. Herein, we report for the first time that the hydrolysis-based decomposition of ZIF-8 in water is accelerated by the irradiation of UVA, UVB, and near-UV visible light. The action spectrum of photo-accelerated decomposition is identical with the optical absorption spectrum of ZIF-8, suggesting that the photo-accelerated decomposition is not due to the decomposition by-products but related to the ligand-based photo-absorption in ZIF-8. Future research directions to elucidate the cause of photo-accelerated decomposition are discussed. The findings have profound implications in the applications of MOFs that involve intentional or accidental light irradiation in aqueous environments.