Metal-organic framework

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are compounds consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to organic ligands to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. They are a subclass of coordination polymers, with the special feature that they are often porous. The organic ligands included are sometimes referred to as "struts", one example being 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC).

More formally, a metal–organic framework is a coordination network with organic ligands containing potential voids. A coordination network is a coordination compound extending, through repeating coordination entities, in one dimension, but with cross-links between two or more individual chains, loops, or spiro-links, or a coordination compound extending through repeating coordination entities in two or three dimensions; and finally a coordination polymer is a coordination compound with repeating coordination entities extending in one, two, or three dimensions.

In some cases, the pores are stable during elimination of the guest molecules (often solvents) and could be used for the storage of gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Other possible applications of MOFs are in gas purification, in gas separation, in catalysis, as sensors and as supercapacitors.

MOFs are composed of two major components: a metal ion or cluster of metal ions and an organic molecule called a linker. For this reason, the materials are often referred to as hybrid organic-inorganic materials, however this use of this terminology has recently been explicitly discouraged. The organic units are typically mono-, di-, tri-, or tetravalent ligands. The choice of metal and linker dictates the structure and hence properties of the MOF. For example, the metal's coordination preference influences the size and shape of pores by dictating how many ligands can bind to the metal and in which orientation.

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