Governing metal-organic frameworks towards high stability

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed with metal ions/clusters and organic ligands have emerged as an important family of porous materials for various applications. However, the stability of this class of materials is crucial for their practical applications, which might be improved by varying their chemical composition and/or structurally tuning them. To fabricate MOFs with high stability, several strategies for enhancing the stability of MOFs have been developed, in which the strength of metal-ligand bonds is especially considered: the use of highly charged cations and higher pK(a) ligands, and varying the chemical functionality of linkers. On the other hand, the regulation of their structural architectures is also investigated: interpenetrated frameworks, multi-walled frameworks, and self-strengthening of the frameworks. In addition, the surface modification can also improve the stability of the materials. In this review, we introduce and summarize these strategies from the viewpoint of structural tuning and component choosing, providing useful instructions for the further design and synthesis of MOFs with high-level stability.