Xueying Wen, Huiyue Wang, Guixin Hu, Ran Niu, Tao Tang, Jiang Gong*

Solvent-free “weaving” synthesis of MOF from waste plastics for record-efficiency evaporation energy harvesting

Advanced Functional Materials (2026) Accept. (IF2026 = 19.9)

Metal-organic framework (MOF)-based electricity generation driven by water evaporation offers a promising route toward clean energy for self-powered systems. However, the rational fabrication of high-performance, low-cost MOF generators, along with a clear understanding of the intrinsic structure-property correlations governing electricity generation, remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report an organic solvent-free, atmospheric, two-step “weaving” strategy that converts waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) into Ca-BDC·3H₂O via coordination-induced in-situ re-construction-crystallization. By leveraging the Ca(II)-σ Lewis acidity and OH? nucleophilic attack mechanism, Ca(OH)₂ mediates the re-construction of molten PET into a calcium-coordinated intermediate (Ca-Int), which subsequently undergoes steam-assisted in-situ re-construction-crystallization to form Ca-BDC·3H2O. This “weaving” strategy achieves a total profit of $ 1.06 × 10⁷, representing a three-order-of-magnitude improvement over conventional closed-loop PET recycling methods. The resulting Ca-BDC·3H₂O features a uniform nanorod morphology, which synergistically enhances surface hydrophilicity and charge density, thereby facilitating ion migration and boosting electricity generation. Consequently, the Ca-BDC·3H₂O-based generator (CaBDC-G) delivers a high electrical output (19.7 V and 34.8 μA) during seawater evaporation, outperforming state-of-the-art MOF-based generators. This study establishes a paradigm for the cost-effective functional upcycling of waste PET into MOF and provides new insights into the intrinsic structure-performance relationships of MOF in evaporation-driven energy harvesting.