Metal–Organic Frameworks: From Molecules/Metal Ions to Crystals to Superstructures

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are among the most attractive porous materials known today, exhibiting very high surface areas, tuneable pore sizes and shapes, adjustable surface functionality, and flexible structures. Advances in the formation of MOF crystals, and in their subsequent assembly into more complex and/or composite superstructures, should expand the scope of these materials in many applications (e.g., drug delivery, chemical sensors, selective reactors and removal devices, etc.) and facilitate their integration onto surfaces and into devices. This Concept article aims to showcase recently developed synthetic strategies to control the one-, two- and three-dimensional (1-, 2- and 3D) organisation of MOF crystals.

Well‐Defined Metal–Organic‐Framework Hollow Nanostructures for Catalytic Reactions Involving Gases

“…Among the various approaches for synthesizing hollow MOF nanostructures, templating methods are considered as straightforward and versatile routes, and involve the controlled deposition of the designed materials (or their precursors) onto various templates, followed by selective removal of the templates via chemical etching or other processes. Such templates include hard (organic polymer microparticles, soft (emulsion micelles and gas bubbles and sacrificial ones. Solid/soft templating methods are accompanied by a high cost, tedious procedures for shell deposition and template removal, and incompatibility issues between the desired materials and the template surfaces, while the sacrificial templating method, in which the template itself is involved as a reactant (or intermediate), thus requiring no additional template removal, is more efficient.…”

“…b) Reproduced with permission. [9d] Copyright 2013, American Chemical Society. c) Reproduced with permission.…”

Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) Nanorods, Nanotubes, and Nanowires

“…[17,18] Significant research efforts in the field of MOFs have been focused on crystal structure designs and optimization through pre-and post-synthetic ligand variation to improve stability and to fine-tune chemical functionality.R elatively less attention has been paid to controlling the growth of MOF crystals at the microscopic scale and to the resulting MOF nanostructures that may exhibit distinct properties and reactivities when compared to corresponding bulk materials. [20,21] Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is one of the most well-studied MOF materials. [20,21] Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is one of the most well-studied MOF materials.…”

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of metal–organic framework nanorods of Zn-HKUST-1 and their templating effects for facile fabrication of zinc oxide nanorods via solid-state transformation

“…Recent advances in nanostructured MOFs have been led by development of new synthetic methods that provide control over size, morphology, and nano/microstructure [3,4]. Among the various nanostructures, one-dimensional (1D) nanoscaled MOFs, such as nanowires, nanorods, and nanotubes, have been regarded as significant factors that may influence the chemical and physical properties and bring wide applications [5].…”