Themed issue: integrating functionality into metal–organic frameworks

Metal–Organic Frameworks have received considerable attention in recent years as a new class of porous materials with exceptionally high specific surface area and pore volume, rendering MOFs as highly promising materials for applications in gas storage for energy applications, gas separation, as well as biological fields such as drug delivery. Beyond high capacity, the modular construction principle of MOFs is ideally suited for the integration of functionality into either organic fragments (i.e. linkers) or inorganic nodes using accessible sites for catalysis, adsorption or even selective recognition. The high degree of versatility in such modular structures leaves almost no limitations for imaginative functions to be integrated in such porous solids. But beyond integration of diverse functionalities enabling chromatographic separation or sensor integration, new synthesis and processing schemes are also being developed for the design of core–shell systems, anisotropic crystal growth, or graded linker substitution. Clearly MOF research is advancing towards system integration and the upcoming decade will be important for the success and application of MOFs in systems and devices. In this context, research on specifically functionalized materials with a clear application profile is essential to support small and medium enterprises for market entry in niche areas.

The enormous number of recent research activities and the strong contributions to the International MOF Symposium organized in Dresden (Germany) in 2011 with 150 participants and especially a high number of young scientists motivated us to initiate a Journal of Materials Chemistry themed issue focused on the integration of functionality into MOFs.

The high number of strong contributions from some of the leading research groups in this area clearly made this initiative a great success. In conclusion, we would like to thank all contributing groups for their excellent publications and hope that MOF scientists will enjoy diving into the most recent advances in the field.

S. Kaskel, Dresden, Germany

R. Fischer, Bochum, Germany

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