Hierarchically porous metal–organic frameworks: synthesis strategies, structure(s), and emerging applications in decontamination

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 397; p. 122765
• Main Authors: Kabtamu, Daniel Manaye, Wu, Yi-nan, Li, Fengting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 05.10.2020
• Subjects: Hierarchical porous structure; Metal–organic frameworks; Pollution Control; Template-directed synthesis; Template-free synthesis; Template-free synthesis; Template-directed synthesis; Hierarchical porous structure; Pollution Control; Metal–organic frameworks
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122765

[Display omitted] •The recent progress in the preparation of HP-MOFs is highlighted.•HP-MOFs facilitate the diffusion and mass transfer of guest molecules.•HP-MOFs show- higher adsorption performance than conventional microporous MOFs.•The adsorptive removal of common pollutants via HP-MOFs is briefly discussed.•The future development of HP-MOFs based on the current challenges is highlighted. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high porosity have received much attention as promising materials for many applications owing to their unique properties. However, to date, most of the reported MOFs have microporous structures, which slow down diffusion/mass transfer and limit the accessibility of bulky molecules to its internal surface. Thus, it is crucial to develop an efficient way to create larger pores (mesoporous and/or macroporous) into microporous MOFs to form hierarchical porous metal-organic frameworks (HP-MOFs), which facilitate the diffusion and mass transfer of guest molecules. HP-MOFs are excellent and promising candidates for environmental applications under the background of environmental contaminations. In this review paper, we are primarily focusing on the latest progress in the preparation of HP-MOFs by employing template-assisted and template-free synthetic approaches for environmental cleaning applications. Particularly, the adsorptive purification of the most common toxic substances, including gases, dyes, heavy metal ions, and antibiotics from the environment using HP-MOFs as adsorbents is briefly discussed. The overall results clearly showed that the superiority of HP-MOFs compared with conventional microporous MOFs. Finally, we summarize the remaining challenges and provide personal perspectives on possible future development of HP-MOFs.