A Macroporous Metal–Organic Framework with Enhanced Hydrophobicity for Efficient Oil Adsorption

The applications of three‐dimensional superstructures that consist of metal–organic framework (MOF) crystals are promising, but limited by spatial control over the crystallization process. Here a hydrophobic hierarchical metal–organic framework (HZIF‐8) containing unusual micro‐, meso‐, and macropores was designed and synthesized by a template strategy, in which the polystyrene (PS) not only acted as the template to construct the macropores, but also modified the hydrophilic crystal surface of ZIF‐8. When used as adsorbent for liquid oil/water separation, HZIF‐8 demonstrated significantly enhanced oil adsorption performance while maintaining very low water uptake. Oil and water: A macroporous metal–organic framework (HZIF‐8) with enhanced hydrophobicity was constructed via a rational and facile template route. HZIF‐8 demonstrated significantly improved capacities for the adsorption of liquid oils while kept low water uptake.