Rational Design, Synthesis, Purification, and Activation of Metal-Organic Framework Materials

The emergence of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as func-tional ultrahigh surface area materials is one of the most excit-ing recent developments in solid-state chemistry. Now constituting thousands of distinct examples, MOFs are an intriguing class of hybrid materials that exist as infinite crystalline lattices with inor-ganic vertices and molecular-scale organic connectors. Useful prop-erties such as large internal surface areas, ultralow densities, and the availability of uniformly structured cavities and portals of molecular dimensions characterize functional MOFs. Researchers have effectively exploited these unusual properties in applica-tions such as hydrogen and methane storage, chemical separa-tions, and selective chemical catalysis. In principle, one of the most attractive features of MOFs is the simplicity of their synthesis. Typically they are obtained via one-pot solvothermal preparations. However, with the simplicity come challenges. In particular, MOF materials, especially more complex ones, can be difficult to obtain in pure form and with the optimal degree of catenation, the interpenetration or inter