Anion binding in metal-organic frameworks

Despite commonly being used as the hosts for gases, solvents and other neutral molecules, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received recent attention as supramolecular anion binding hosts with a broad range of environmental and biological applications. The review summarizes the development of this area, with the anion-binding MOFs categorized based on different design strategies including cationic MOFs with anion-exchange capabilities, neutral MOFs that feature anion coordination to metal nodes, as well as MOFs functionalized with non-covalent or covalent anion-recognition motifs. We also discuss the advantages of using the MOF scaffold for anion binding compared with small-molecules anion receptors. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This review discusses the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as supramolecular anion binding hosts with various environmental and biological applications, categorized based on different design strategies. The advantages of using MOF scaffold for anion binding compared with small-molecules anion receptors are also explored.