Porous polyacrylonitrile nanofiber membranes modified with UiO-66-NH2 nanosheets for excellent detoxification of nerve agent simulant

The development of flexible, lightweight and wearable fabrics with excellent chemical warfare agents (CWAs) detoxification and a facile preparation process, is of cardinal significance for individual protection clothing. Metal-organic layers (MOLs), also known as ultrathin two-dimensional metal–organic nanosheets, have gained tremendous attention due to their better access between CWAs and catalytic active sites and faster dissociation of degradation products than their three-dimensional counterparts. However, MOLs deposited on nanofabrics uniformly and densely remain a major challenge. Herein, we have grown ultrathin UiO-66-NH₂ nanosheets on the porous polyacrylonitrile (PPAN) fabrics by a facile solvothermal approach. The loading capacity of MOF nanosheets can reach 52.8 wt%. The resulting PPAN@UiO-66-NH₂ nanofabric displays excellent catalytic activity for dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP) with a half-life as short as 2.17 min in bulk solution, which is better than that of equivalent UiO-66-NH₂ powder. This surprising result originates from the better access to catalytic active sites and smaller diffusion resistance of degradation products of the MOLs. The DMNP conversion can also maintain above 99 % after 15 consecutive injections in the filtration detoxification experiment. Moreover, it exhibits good adhesion strength, flexibility, lightweightness, mechanical robustness, and breathability, making it a promising candidate for chemical protective clothing applications.