Metal-organic frameworks: spugne molecolari al servizio della sostenibilità

MOF are composed by metal ions or clusters held together by organic linkers to make highly ordered, crystalline 3D structures with ultra-high porosity. The phenomenally large internal surface areas (more than 10.000 m2g-1) are one of the reasons for the buzz around these materials, which have captured the imagination of scientists and engineers, with significant progresses being made in their development. Compared with traditional porous adsorbents, such as zeolites and activated carbons, MOF are promising for high-density gas storage, gas separation and many other industrial applications, such as chemical sensing, water/soil purification, biomedicine and microelectronics, owing to their unique structural features and tunability.

Rispetto ai tradizionali adsorbenti porosi, l’unicità della struttura cristallina dei metal-organic frameworks (MOF) permette di progettare strutture con dimensioni e proprietà chimico-fisiche della superficie interna dei pori pre-determinate, per applicazioni specifiche. I MOF hanno quindi attratto l’interesse di molti scienziati e ingegneri, spingendo verso la loro ottimizzazione per applicazioni industriali, come lo stoccaggio e la separazione di gas, la sensoristica, la purificazione dell’acqua e del suolo, la biomedicina, ma anche la microelettronica.