Dehumidification performance of aluminum fumarate metal organic framework and its composite

•A macroscopic green synthesis method of aluminum fumarate is developed.•Dehumidification capacity of composite material has been obviously improved.•Desorption ratio of composite material can reach 82% at 50 °C.•Composite material shows great potential for the application of desiccant wheel. The output and adsorption characteristics of solid adsorbents limit their application in a desiccant wheel system. Therefore, this paper proposed a macroscopic green synthesis method for aluminum fumarate metal organic framework (approximately 400 g can be synthesized in a single time). By combining with other materials, the dehumidification performance of aluminum fumarate had been greatly improved. The microporous structure and dehumidification-desorption performance of the samples were analyzed by physical characterization and constant temperature and humidity chamber respectively. Results showed that at a relative humidity of 80%, the dehumidification capacity of the composite material reached 2.5 and 3.18 times that of aluminum fumarate and commercially silica gel, respectively. The composite material can also achieve a better desorption effect at a lower desorption temperature (50 ℃), with a desorption ratio of 82%. This proved that the composite material based on aluminum fumarate had great potential in the application.