Strategies for the Construction of Functional Materials Utilizing Presynthesized Metal‐Organic Cages (MOCs)

Abstract

Metal‐organic cages (MOCs) that assemble from metal ions or metal clusters and organic ligands have attracted the interest of the scientific community because of their various functional coordination cavities. Unlike metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) with infinite frameworks, MOCs have discrete structures, making them soluble and stable in certain solvents and facilitating their application as starting reagents in the further construction of single components or composite materials. In recent years, increasing progress has been made in this field. In this review, we introduce these works from the perspective of design strategies, and focus on how presynthesized MOCs can be used to construct functional materials. Finally, we discuss the challenges and development prospects in this field.

Transformation of a copper-based metal–organic polyhedron into a mixed linker MOF for CO2 capture

“…CO 2 gas has been acknowledged as a major contributor to global warming since the 1850s, when the first IR heat absorbance experiments of atmospheric gases were published. 21–23 Current CO 2 removal methods include the physisorption of supercritical CO 2 into geologic formations and materials and chemisorption using ionic liquids. 24,25 These processes are effective solutions, but the exponential increase in anthropogenic CO 2 warrants the exploration of materials with greater absorbance capabilities and selectiveness towards the target molecule.…”

“…31,32 A key difference between MOPs and MOFs is that the latter's coordination bonds extend infinitely into one, two, or three dimensions, whereas MOPs are discrete units with a single cavity. 22 MOPs show relatively low thermal stability in comparison with MOFs, typically collapsing upon heating. 24 Post-synthetic linker modifications of MOPs have been carried out to make extended networks.…”