Using water adsorption measurements to access the chemistry of defects in the metal-organic framework UiO-66

Tailoring defects in metal-organic frameworks is important for enhancing sorption and reaction properties. Defects in UiO-66 have been characterized for the first time by using water adsorption measurements. We found that the defect-induced hydrophilicity, quantitatively expressed by the Henry constant and the saturation water uptake, correlates well with the catalytic performance in the cyanosilylation of benzaldehyde.