Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have attracted increasing attention for the creation of solid-state platforms for catalysis applications. In this review article, we present strategies to employ MOF-based materials in photochemical hydrogen production. The scope ranges from the incorporation of single functions (catalyst or photosensitizer) to multifunctional MOFs that combine both light-harvest...

We report the encapsulation of the hydrophilic model molecule calcein in the Zr-based MOF UiO-66, followed by amorphization of the framework by ball-milling. We show controlled release of calcein over more than 30 days, compared with the 2 day release period from crystalline UiO-66.

The dynamics of mechanically interlocked molecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes have been studied in solution as examples of rudimentary molecular switches and machines, but in this medium, the molecules are randomly dispersed and their motion incoherent. As a strategy for achieving a higher level of molecular organization, we have constructed a metal-organic framework material using a [2]ro...

New materials capable of separating mixtures of saturated, unsaturated, and aromatic hydrocarbons can enable more efficient industrial processes and cleaner energy. Outstanding challenges in hydrocarbon separations stem from the similar structures, properties, and reactivities of the molecules comprising many of these mixtures. With high surface areas, tunable pore geometries, and adjustable su...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) demonstrate a wide variety of behavior in their response to pressure, including anomalous mechanical properties, negative linear compressibility, pressure-induced crystal-to-crystal and crystal-to-amorphous structural transitions. The discovery of framework materials combining novel pressure responses and high mechanical stability is key in the quest for applicat...

Occasional, large amplitude flexibility in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is one of the most intriguing recent discoveries in chemistry and material science. Yet, there is at present no theoretical framework that permits the identification of flexible structures in the rapidly expanding universe of MOFs. Here, we propose a simple method to predict whether a MOF is flexible, based on treating i...

The incorporation of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), such as rotaxanes and catenanes, into porous metal– organic frameworks (MOFs) has recently been recognized as a strategy for introducing dynamics into otherwise rigid, robust frameworks. In this manner, the interlocked nature of these switchable components allows dynamics to be expressed independently of the MOF backbone and, there...

Crystal engineering has recently emerged as a method of choice for the design and construction of organic as well as metal-organic functional materials. Crystal engineering attempts to establish packing trends in whole families of compounds and seeks to establish connections between structure and function. The utility of crystal engineering has also been expanded to the nanoscience and the deve...

Developing catalysts that provide the effective activation of hydrogen and selective absorption of substrate on metal surface is crucial to simultaneously improve activity and selectivity of hydrogenation reaction. Here we present an unique in situ etching and coordination synthetic strategy for exploiting a functionalized metal-organic framework to incorporate the bimetallic platinum-nickel fr...

There is an upsurge of interest in the synthesis of coordination polymers in contemporary supramolecular chemistry, as coordination polymerization may lead to materials with controllable functions such as porosity, sensing, nonlinear optical (NLO) activity, and chirality. Crystal engineering based on predesigned organic linkers and metal centers (building blocks) with specific coordination geom...