Porous functional metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed from different N-heterocyclic carboxylic ligands for gas adsorption/separation

Abstract

It is well known that gas adsorption and separation are crucial processes in many industries, including oil refining, metallurgy, environmental protection, and medicine. Thus, it is vital to develop highly energy-efficient porous materials for the storage and separation of gases. Porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are new-type functional crystalline materials and formed by metal ions/clusters and organic ligands with diverse and adjustable structures. Particularly, N-heterocyclic carboxylate-based MOFs offer significant potential in gas capture and separation since the ligands in MOFs may exhibit strong coordination ability and various coordination modes. Herein, this review focuses on the major research progress of N-heterocyclic carboxylate-based MOFs in the adsorption and separation of common gases. This work may help to construct other new porous MOFs and further understand the relationship between the structures of MOFs and gas sorption/separation.