MOF

MOF

Metal–organic frameworks first emerged in the late 20th century as a class of crystalline porous materials combining metal nodes and organic linkers. Researchers at institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Max Planck Society, and University of Cambridge advanced early design principles through collaborations with laboratories like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and companies including BASF and Dow Chemical Company. These materials have been explored alongside technologies developed by groups at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Linde plc, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for applications in gas storage, separation, catalysis, and sensing.

Definition and Overview

The class is defined as crystalline coordination networks constructed from inorganic metal clusters and multitopic organic ligands, a concept developed in parallel with work from Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, ETH Zurich, and University of Tokyo. Early landmark papers from research groups led by scientists at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Imperial College London established nomenclature and structural families. Seminal syntheses by teams at University of Kyoto, University of Bordeaux, and University of Manchester expanded the library of topologies studied in coordination chemistry and reticular chemistry. Industrial interest from firms such as TotalEnergies, Shell plc, and Siemens accelerated investigations into scale-up and real-world deployment.

Chemical Structure and Classification

Structural motifs arise from coordination between metal ions or metal-oxide secondary building units and organic linkers like carboxylates, azolates, and phosphonates, explored in detail by researchers at Stanford University, Columbia University, and University of California, Irvine. Classification schemes reference topology databases curated by projects at Rutgers University and University of California, San Diego, and topology types often bear connections to nets studied by mathematicians at Princeton University and University of Cambridge. Metal centers commonly include transition metals investigated at California Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, and Tokyo Institute of Technology, while linker design traces back to synthetic methods developed at Scripps Research Institute and University of Oxford. Porosity and surface areas are compared to porous materials synthesized by groups at Georgia Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Minnesota.

Synthesis and Characterization

Synthesis methods—solvothermal, mechanochemical, microwave-assisted, and layer-by-layer growth—were refined by laboratories at University of Barcelona, University of Ghent, University of Copenhagen, and McGill University. Characterization techniques employ powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction used at facilities like European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Diamond Light Source, and spectroscopy methods advanced at National Institute of Standards and Technology and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Gas adsorption measurements often reference protocols from International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, while microscopy studies draw upon instrumentation from Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Computational modeling and high-throughput screening performed by groups at Argonne National Laboratory, Flatiron Institute, and Google DeepMind expanded predictive capabilities for stability and adsorption.

Properties and Applications

High specific surface areas and tunable pore chemistry underpin applications in gas storage (hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide), with pilot studies involving Toyota Research Institute, BMW Group, Airbus, Boeing, and U.S. Department of Energy. Separation and purification efforts intersect with projects at Pfizer, Merck Group, Novartis, and GlaxoSmithKline for pharmaceutical processing. Catalysis research links to work at BASF, Johnson Matthey, and ExxonMobil, while sensing and electronic applications connect to studies at Sony Corporation, Samsung Electronics, and Intel Corporation. Environmental remediation and carbon capture deployments have been modeled for policies from European Commission, United Nations Environment Programme, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and national laboratories including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Challenges and Safety Considerations

Stability under humidity, thermal cycling, and chemical exposure remains a central challenge addressed by collaborations between National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Fraunhofer Society, and industry partners such as Dow Chemical Company and Bayer AG. Scalability and cost issues relate to manufacturing processes developed at DuPont, 3M Company, and chemical engineering groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University. Safety considerations for synthesis and deployment involve handling of metal salts and organic solvents, following guidance from agencies like Occupational Safety and Health Administration, European Chemicals Agency, and standards bodies such as American Society for Testing and Materials. Long-term environmental and lifecycle assessments have been conducted in studies associated with World Resources Institute, International Energy Agency, and academic centers at Yale University and University of California, Davis.

Category:Porous materials