Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an emerging class of porous materials with potential applications in gas storage, separations, catalysis, and chemical sensing. Despite numerous advantages, applications of many MOFs are ultimately limited by their stability under harsh conditions. Herein, the recent advances in the field of stable MOFs, covering the fundamental mechanisms of MOF stability, design, and synthesis of stable MOF architectures, and their latest applications are reviewed. First, key factors that affect MOF stability under certain chemical environments are introduced to guide the design of robust structures. This is followed by a short review of synthetic strategies of stable MOFs including modulated synthesis and postsynthetic modifications. Based on the fundamentals of MOF stability, stable MOFs are classified into two categories: high-valency metal-carboxylate frameworks and low-valency metal-azolate frameworks. Along this line, some representative stable MOFs are introduced, their structures are described, and their properties are briefly discussed. The expanded applications of stable MOFs in Lewis/Brønsted acid catalysis, redox catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, gas storage, and sensing are highlighted. Overall, this review is expected to guide the design of stable MOFs by providing insights into existing structures, which could lead to the discovery and development of more advanced functional materials.
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted growing interest by virtue of their structural diversity and tunability. Herein, we present a novel approach for the development of organic rechargeable battery cathodes in which three distinct redox-active COFs were successfully prepared and delaminated into 2D few-layer nanosheets. Compared with the pristine COFs, the exfoliated COFs with shorter Li diffusion pathways allow a significant higher utilization efficiency of redox sites and faster kinetics for lithium storage. Unlike diffusion-controlled manners in the bulk COFs, the redox reactions in ECOFs are mainly dominated by charge transfer process. The capacity and potential are further engineered by reticular design of COFs without altering the underlying topology. Specifically, DAAQ-ECOF exhibits excellent rechargeability (98% capacity retention after 1800 cycles) and fast charge-discharge ability (74% retention at 500 mA g as compared to at 20 mA g). DABQ-ECOF shows a specific capacity of 210 mA h g and a voltage plateau of 2.8 V.
Environmental challenges especially air pollution (particulate matter (PM) and toxic gases) pose serious threats to public health globally. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline materials with high porosity, tunable pore size, and rich functionalities, holding the promise for poisonous pollutants capture. Here, nanocrystals of four unique MOF structures are processed into nanofibrous filters (noted as MOFilter) with high MOF loadings (up to 60 wt %). The MOFilters show high PM removal efficiencies up to 88.33 ± 1.52% and 89.67 ± 1.33% for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, in the hazy environment, and the performance remains largely unchanged over 48 h of continuous filtration. For the first time, the interactions between such porous crystalline material and particulate pollutants were explored. These thin MOFilters can further selectively capture and retain SO2 when exposed to a stream of SO2/N2 mixture, and their hierarchical nanostructures can easily permeate fresh air at high gas flow rate with the pressure drop <20 Pa.
A unique strategy, sequential linker installation (SLI), has been developed to construct multivariate MOFs with functional groups precisely positioned. PCN-700, a Zr-MOF with eight-connected Zr6O4(OH)8(H2O)4 clusters, has been judiciously designed; the Zr6 clusters in this MOF are arranged in such a fashion that, by replacement of terminal OH(-)/H2O ligands, subsequent insertion of linear dicarboxylate linkers is achieved. We demonstrate that linkers with distinct lengths and functionalities can be sequentially installed into PCN-700. Single-crystal to single-crystal transformation is realized so that the positions of the subsequently installed linkers are pinpointed via single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. This methodology provides a powerful tool to construct multivariate MOFs with precisely positioned functionalities in the desired proximity, which would otherwise be difficult to achieve.
Group 4 metal-based
metal–organic frameworks (MIV-MOFs), including Ti-,
Zr-, and Hf-based MOFs, are one of the most
attractive classes of MOF materials owing to their superior chemical
stability and structural tunability. Despite being a relatively new
field, MIV-MOFs have attracted significant research attention
in the past few years, leading to exciting advances in syntheses and
applications. In this outlook, we start with a brief overview of the
history and current status of MIV-MOFs, emphasizing the
challenges encountered in their syntheses. The unique properties of
MIV-MOFs are discussed, including their high chemical stability
and strong tolerance toward defects. Particular emphasis is placed
on defect engineering in Zr-MOFs which offers additional routes to
tailor their functions. Photocatalysis of MIV-MOF is introduced
as a representative example of their emerging applications. Finally,
we conclude with the perspective of new opportunities in synthesis
and defect engineering.
A major goal of metal–organic framework (MOF) research is the expansion of pore size and volume. Although many approaches have been attempted to increase the pore size of MOF materials, it is still a challenge to construct MOFs with precisely customized pore apertures for specific applications. Herein, we present a new method, namely linker labilization, to increase the MOF porosity and pore size, giving rise to hierarchical-pore architectures. Microporous MOFs with robust metal nodes and pro-labile linkers were initially synthesized. The mesopores were subsequently created as crystal defects through the splitting of a pro-labile-linker and the removal of the linker fragments by acid treatment. We demonstrate that linker labilization method can create controllable hierarchical porous structures in stable MOFs, which facilitates the diffusion and adsorption process of guest molecules to improve the performances of MOFs in adsorption and catalysis.
Through a kinetically controlled synthetic process, we synthesized PCN-223, a new porphyrinic Zr-MOF constructed from the newly reported hexagonal prismatic 12-connected Zr6 cluster through an unusual disordered arrangement, giving rise to the first example of the shp-a network in MOFs. With its extremely high connectivity, PCN-223 shows high stability in aqueous solutions with a wide range of pH. Cationic PCN-223(Fe) formed by postsynthetic treatment is an excellent recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction.
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