Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Application of Taguchi orthogonal array in optimization of the synthesis and crystallinity of metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5)

Hayder Yahya Mansoor Al-Jarsha, Mowafaq M Ghareeb

Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq;

For correspondence:- Mowafaq Ghareeb Email: mowafaqghareeb@copharm.uobaghdad.edu.iq Tel:+964-7706972812

Accepted: 01 December 2023 Published: 31 December 2023

Citation: Al-Jarsha HY, Ghareeb MM. Application of Taguchi orthogonal array in optimization of the synthesis and crystallinity of metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5). Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(12):2473-2482 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i12.8

© 2023 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To use the L25 Taguchi orthogonal array for optimizing the three main solvothermal parameters that affect the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks-5 (MOF-5).

Methods: The L25 Taguchi methodology was used to study various parameters that affect the degree of crystallinity (DOC) of MOF-5. The parameters comprised temperature of synthesis, duration of synthesis, and ratio of the solvent, N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) to reactants. For each parameter, the volume of DMF was varied while keeping the weight of reactants constant. The weights of 1,4-benzodicarboxylate (BDC) and Zn(NO₃)2.6H₂O used were 0.390 g and 2.166 g, respectively. For each parameter investigated, five different levels were used. The MOF-5 samples were synthesized using the solvothermal reaction method, and successful synthesis was confirmed with x-ray diffraction (XRD), microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The DOC obtained via XRD served as a parameter of objective quality.

Results: The optimum conditions that gave the highest DOC were synthesis temperature of 130 °C, duration of 60 h, and a vehicle volume of 50 mL, with optimum Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (BET -SA) of 800 m²/g. All the three synthesis parameters significantly influenced the DOC of the synthesized MOF-5 (p < 0.05). Sub-optimal conditions resulted in distorted MOFs, products that deviated from MOF-5 specifications, or MOF-5 with low DOC.

Conclusion: Based on DOC and BET-SA, the best conditions for synthesis of MOF-5 when using Taguchi OA, were temperature of 130 °C, duration of 60 h, and a DMF volume of 50 mL.

Keywords: MOF-5, Taguchi orthogonal array, XRD, Crystallinity