Recent Advances of Supercritical CO2 in Green Synthesis and Activation of Metal-Organic Frameworks

This review considers the recent advancements of using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) in the synthesis and activation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The first section outlines MOF synthesis by scCO(2)-based methods; pure scCO(2) system, and also in conjunction with a co-solvent, auxiliary ligand, expandable solvent or an ionic liquid. This is followed by elaborating on MOF activation techniques that employed scCO(2), be it independently or together with thermal activation. The third section considers the effects of scCO(2) on MOF and polymer structures. To conclude, projections are made for current researchers in this area to better exploit scCO(2) utilization.