Rational construction of metal–organic frameworks for heterogeneous catalysis

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials that consist of highly ordered organic building blocks and metal ions/clusters. Because the emerging porous materials have the ability to retain and even enhance the individual functionalities of the secondary building units (SBUs), the catalytic functions of porous MOFs can be therefore easily realized by carefully choosing and tuning the functional moieties in building synthons. Accompanying the development on the synthesis strategy and the characterization technology for MOF materials, MOF catalysts have undergone an upsurge and transcended the stage of opportunism. This brief review will give a cross-section of the rational design and synthesis of porous metal–organic framework materials for heterogeneous catalysis.