title: Catalysis by metal-organic frameworks: fundamentals and opportunities.
abstract: Crystalline porous materials are extremely important for developing catalytic systems with high scientific and industrial impact. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show unique potential that still has to be fully exploited. This perspective summarizes the properties of MOFs with the aim to understand what are possible approaches to catalysis with these materials. We categorize three classes of MOF catalysts: (1) those with active site on the framework, (2) those with encapsulated active species, and (3) those with active sites attached through post-synthetic modification. We identify the tunable porosity, the ability to fine tune the structure of the active site and its environment, the presence of multiple active sites, and the opportunity to synthesize structures in which key-lock bonding of substrates occurs as the characteristics that distinguish MOFs from other materials. We experience a unique opportunity to imagine and design heterogeneous catalysts, which might catalyze reactions previously thought impossible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology, Laboratory for Energy and Environment, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland. marco.ranocchiari@psi.ch
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ranocchiari
authors.forename: Jeroen Anton
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: van Bokhoven
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D000537:Aluminum Oxide