(363g) Fabricating Thin Films of MOFs for Catalytic and Separation Applications

Product & Process Development

Material Characterization

Material Discovery

Membrane processes (fabrication, purification processes)

Porous crystalline frameworks can be defined as a class of nanopolymers with high surface areas and wide ranges of pore volumes, mainly for applications involving adsorption, storage, and separations. These porous architectures can be further categorized into Metal- and Covalent- Organic Frameworks (MOFs and COFs). MOFs, as their name suggests, consists of a metallic component, predominantly transition elements due to their property of forming coordination bonds with the organic component. COFs on the other end, comprise of organic components like Boron (B), Silicon (Si) or Nitrogen-based functional groups linked by an organic component. In both MOFs and COFs, the organic linker plays a key role in determining the dimensionality of the polymeric lattice (2D or 3D).

Due to the exceptional reputation of high porosities and stabilities of MOFs/COFs, most of the research focus has been on synthesis for specific application. The main emphasis in published research has been given on advertising the applications of the MOF, while the synthesis techniques are relegated to supplemental information. It is of utmost importance to understand fundamental kinetics and mechanism of formation to develop better methods of fabrication that are scalable and easily deployed. Understanding this science is also important for process economics for choosing optimal raw materials that keep material properties and composition consistent. Attached image summarizes the structure of this report and highlights the objectives of this research. Primarily this work is expected to serve as a model, illustrating the essential steps that should be undertaken between the discovery of the material and its deployment.