Advances of Metal-Organic Frameworks in Adsorption and Separation Applications

As a new type of nano porous material, Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have been rapidly developed for decades. MOFs are synthesized via the self-assembling combination of inorganic metals and organic ligands, and they have many characteristics superior to the conventional porous materials. The ultrahigh surface area, high porosity, adjustable pore sizes, outstanding thermal and chemical stability enable MOFs to be promising materials for widespread applications. With the deepening of research in recent years, MOFs are successfully applied in diverse fields, such as catalysis, adsorption, separation, and biomedicine imaging, among others. The advances of MOFs used in adsorption and separation are reviewed in this paper, with an emphasis on storage of fuels, carbon capture, membrane separation, liquid-phase adsorption, and chromatographic separation and purification. In addition, the future research directions regarding MOFs in the adsorption and separation field are prospected also.