Science · Nature, 1999
A porous framework that holds its shape
A framework that stays crystalline and porous once its guest molecules are removed.
MOF-5, shown in idealized geometry. Drag to rotate.
The question
Could a framework assembled from molecular building blocks stay crystalline and porous once its guest molecules were removed?
What was done
The authors designed and synthesized a MOF from metal-containing clusters and rigid organic linkers, and showed that it kept its ordered, open structure when emptied.
What the paper reports
The paper reports the synthesis, the crystal structure and the stability of the framework.
What remains open
Stability in a laboratory vacuum is not stability in a process stream. Water, heat and chemical resistance remain central questions for every later generation of frameworks.
- Paper
- Li, H.; Eddaoudi, M.; O’Keeffe, M.; Yaghi, O. M. Design and synthesis of an exceptionally stable and highly porous metal-organic framework. Nature 402, 276–279 (1999).
- Credited
- Hailian Li, Mohamed Eddaoudi, Michael O’Keeffe and Omar M. Yaghi.
- Link
- doi.org/10.1038/46248