Towards Design Rules for the Synthesis of Functional Metal-Organic Frameworks in Aqueous Media at Ambient Temperature for Targeted Applications

Major goals of this program are: Understanding the design rules needed to access hydrochemically stable MOFs with various functionalities and topologies, Developing synthesis procedures to access these highly stable MOFs in aqueous media at room temperature, Investigating the effect of modulators with different pKa, steric hindrance and chemical functionality on the synthesis of MOFs in water, Developing methods (including designing alternative linkers) to increase the solubility of the linkers that are used for desired MOFs, Developing methods to access desired topologies using pre-made secondary building blocks of MOFs, and Developing synthesis procedures to access phosphonate based robust MOFs. Five studies came out of t his program: Water-Based Synthesis of a Stable Iron-Based MetalOrganic Framework for Capturing Toxic Gases, Aqueous Synthesis of MOF-808: A zirconium-based MOF shows promise for DoD related applications, Benign Integration of a Zn-Azolate MetalOrganic Framework onto Textile Fiber, Benign Synthesis and Modification of a Large Pore and High Surface Area ZnAzolate MetalOrganic Framework, and Phosphonate-Based MetalOrganic Frameworks Synthesized in Aqueous Media.