Principal Investigator Zachary Smith
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials formed from metals cations bridged by organic ligands. The pore structure, metal sites, and ligand can all be engineered to precisely tune the accessibility and interactions of molecules with the MOF framework. Our lab focuses on the rational design and synthesis of these materials for addressing pressing challenges in separations, catalysis, and energy storage. One particularly interesting class of MOFs that we investigate are those that contain coordinatively unsaturated metal sites. Three of these structures are shown here with the concentration of accessible metal sites listed below the structures.