Themed collection Editor’s Collection: Zirconium based MOFs for catalysis

MOFs as green materials – a highlight of the environmentally conscious or “green” applications of MOFs.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted increasing attention for applications in heterogeneous photocatalysis.

This highlight article focuses on the rapidly emerging area of electrocatalytic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with a particular emphasis on those systems displaying intrinsic activity.

In this highlight, we review the recent development in the design and synthesis of metal–organic frameworks with Lewis acidity, the characterization techniques of Lewis acid sites, and their applications in heterogeneous catalysis.

Various methods for encapsulating enzymes in metal–organic frameworks are discussed and the catalytic activity of biocomposites prepared using these methods is highlighted.

The fascinating chemical and physical properties of MOFs have recently stimulated exploration of their application for photocatalysis. Design guidelines for these materials in photocatalytic solar fuel generation can be developed by applying the right spectroscopic tools.

A urea-containing UiO-68 isoreticular zirconium metal–organic framework with mixed dicarboxylate struts can work as an efficient hydrogen-bond-donating heterogeneous catalyst for Henry reactions of benzaldehydes and nitroalkanes.

Defective UiO-66 obtained by simply tuning the synthesis time is very active for oxidative desulfurization.

Defects in UiO-66 were investigated for the first time by water adsorption measurements and then the materials were tested for the cyanosilylation of benzaldehyde.

The zirconium MOF NU-1000 was post-synthetically modified through solvothermal deposition to include the uranyl ion and characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction; photo-oxidation was also performed.

Synthesis of defective microporous/mesoporous MOF-808.

An inexpensive, environmentally benign and scalable strategy was developed to synthesize UiO-66 derivatives in water at room temperature.

FcCOOH was found to be an efficient modulator for UiO-66 synthesis and a functional group for incorporation of Pd nanoparticles.

We studied linker defects within the UiO-66(Zr) in dept and unraveled their most optimal coordination with water and their beneficial effect on dehydration processes.

A porous iridium(III)-porphyrin metal–organic framework with high stability has been prepared, which can promote the carbenoid insertion into O–H bonds.

The catalytic activity of the Zr-benzenedicarboxylate (Zr-BDC) UiO-66 increases by using synthesis modulators as trifluoroacetate (TFA) or hydrochloric acid (HCl), which can be removed post-synthetically.