Author Spotlight: Functionalizing Metal-Organic Frameworks: Advancements, Challenges, and the Power of Post-Synthetic Ligand Exchange

Our main research topic is functionalizing the porous metal-organic frameworks, MOFs, with interesting functional groups through various techniques. This study is focused on heterocycle installation in MOFs. PSE, post-synthetic ligand exchange is the main technique in this work.

The ligand with target functional group could be installed in presynthesized MOFS throughout the solid-solution exchange process. Especially, some of the unstable ligands and ligands with coordinating groups could be efficiently incorporated into MOFs through the PSE techniques. Both triazole and tetrazole functional groups have multiple coordinating nitrogen grooves.

Therefore, there is competition for coordination between metal carboxylate and metal triazolate or tetrazolate. The incorporation ratio of target ligands is easily controlled in the PSE process and multiple targets could be installed in a single MOF through this approach.