Metal-Organic Network-Forming Glasses

The crystal-liquid-glass phase transition of coordination polymers (CPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offers attractive opportunities as a new class of amorphous materials. Unlike conventional glasses, coordination chemistry allows the utilization of rational design concepts to fine-tune the desired properties. Although the glassy state has been rare in CPs/MOFs, it exhibits diverse advantages complementary to their crystalline counterparts, including improved mass transport, optical properties, mechanical properties, and the ability to form grain-boundary-free monoliths. This Review discusses the current achievements in improving the understanding of anomalous phase transitions in CPs/ MOFs. We elaborate on the criteria for classifying CP/MOF glasses and comprehensively discuss the three common strategies employed to obtain a glassy state. We include all CP/MOF glass research progress since its inception, discuss the current challenges, and express our perspective on future research directions.

Automated summary

The crystal-liquid-glass phase transition in coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks offers opportunities for the development of a new class of amorphous materials. Rational design concepts can be used to fine-tune the desired properties. This review discusses the current achievements in understanding the anomalous phase transitions in CPs/MOFs and explores the criteria for classifying CP/MOF glasses and the strategies to obtain a glassy state.