Metal-organic frameworks based on pyrazolates for the selective and efficient capture of formaldehyde.

Indoor air pollution is one of the major threads in developed countries, notably due to high concentrations of formaldehyde, a harmful molecule difficult to eliminate. Addressing this purification challenge while adhering to the principles of sustainable development requires the use of innovative, advanced sustainable materials. Here we show that by combining state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques with density-functional theory molecular simulations, we have developed an advantageous mild chemisorption synergistic mechanism using porous metal (III or IV) pyrazole- di-carboxylate based metal-organic framework (MOF) to trap formaldehyde in a reversible manner, without incurring significant energy penalties for regeneration.

MOFs with Open Metal(III) Sites for the Environmental Capture of Polar Volatile Organic Compounds.

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) with open metal sites (OMS) interact strongly with a range of polar gases/vapors. However, under ambient conditions, their selective adsorption is generally impaired due to a high OMS affinity to water. This led previously to the privilege selection of hydrophobic MOFs for the selective capture/detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).