# Metal–organic frameworks: templates

> Benchmark MOFs built atom by atom at real dimensions: synthesis, structure, reticular design, defects, post-synthetic modification, characterization, CO₂ capture, water harvesting and drug delivery.

URL: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks

10 templates. All templates: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates

- [MOF-5: synthesis and structure](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-5-synthesis-structure) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-5-synthesis-structure.md)): MOF-5 (IRMOF-1) is the prototypical metal–organic framework. Zinc nitrate and terephthalic acid heated in N,N-diethylformamide give colourless cubic crystals of Zn₄O(BDC)₃: octahedral Zn₄O(CO₂)₆ clusters joined by benzene links into a cubic net with cavities about 12 and 15 Å across. Emptied carefully and kept dry, it is one of the most porous solids known.
- [HKUST-1: copper paddlewheels and open metal sites](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/hkust-1-cu-btc-open-metal-sites) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/hkust-1-cu-btc-open-metal-sites.md)): HKUST-1 (Cu-BTC) forms in high yield when copper(II) nitrate and trimesic acid are heated in water and ethanol. Pairs of Cu²⁺ ions bridged by four carboxylates (paddlewheels) are joined by the triangular trimesate into a cubic framework with 1 nm channels. Each copper carries a water molecule; heating under vacuum removes it and leaves an open metal site that binds guests, and pyridine can take its place.
- [Isoreticular MOFs: one net, designed pores](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/irmof-isoreticular-series-pore-size) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/irmof-isoreticular-series-pore-size.md)): Keeping the Zn₄O node and the cubic net of MOF-5 while changing only the linker gave a series of 16 isoreticular frameworks (IRMOFs): longer struts (naphthalene, biphenyl, terphenyl…) widen the pores step by step, and groups on the benzene ring (–Br, –NH₂, alkoxy, fused rings) change what lines them. Open space reaches 91.1% of the crystal and the pores run from 3.8 to 28.8 Å.
- [UiO-66: modulators and missing-linker defects](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/uio-66-missing-linker-defects-modulators) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/uio-66-missing-linker-defects-modulators.md)): Monocarboxylic acids added to the synthesis of UiO-66 compete with terephthalate for the Zr₆ clusters. With more modulator the crystals grow separate and larger, and more linkers go missing, their places taken by modulator, hydroxide or water. The defects open up the framework, and thermogravimetry counts them: an ideal UiO-66 plateau is 2.20 times its ZrO₂ residue.
- [MIL-101(Cr): supertetrahedra and giant cages](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mil-101-cr-supertetrahedra-mesoporous-cages) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mil-101-cr-supertetrahedra-mesoporous-cages.md)): MIL-101 is a chromium terephthalate made hydrothermally with HF. Trimers of CrO₆ octahedra and terephthalate links form supertetrahedra, which share corners like the tetrahedra of a zeolite (MTN topology). The result is a cubic cell of about 702,000 ų with mesoporous cages about 30 and 34 Å across and a Langmuir surface area near 5,900 m² g⁻¹.
- [Post-synthetic modification of a MOF](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-post-synthetic-modification-irmof-3) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-post-synthetic-modification-irmof-3.md)): Functional groups can be added to a framework after it has formed. The amino groups that line the pores of IRMOF-3 react with acetic anhydride like an aniline would, turning into amides throughout the crystal while the framework stays intact. The powder pattern confirms the structure is kept, and ¹H NMR of digested crystals gives the conversion.
- [Characterizing a new MOF](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-characterization-pxrd-bet-tga) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-characterization-pxrd-bet-tga.md)): A new framework is only as good as its evidence. Solvent has to leave the pores without the crystal collapsing; then the powder pattern shows the bulk is the phase solved from the crystal structure, a nitrogen isotherm at 77 K shows the pores are open (a type I curve for a microporous MOF, with the BET area taken from the low-pressure range that meets the consistency criteria), and thermogravimetry shows the composition. Drawn here for UiO-66.
- [Mg-MOF-74: open metal sites for CO₂ capture](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mg-mof-74-co2-capture) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mg-mof-74-co2-capture.md)): In Mg-MOF-74, chains of magnesium ions joined by 2,5-dioxidoterephthalate line one-dimensional hexagonal channels. Removing the solvent leaves a bare Mg²⁺ site every few ångströms along each channel, and these hold CO₂ strongly. In a packed bed fed with CO₂ and methane, methane passes straight through while CO₂ is held back; the bed reaches 8.9 wt% dynamic capacity and gives the CO₂ up again at 80 °C.
- [MOF-801: water from desert air](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-801-water-harvesting) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mof-801-water-harvesting.md)): MOF-801 is a zirconium fumarate with the same net as UiO-66 and small pores that fill with water over a narrow range of low humidity. A layer of it in a simple box takes up water from the air at night; by day, sunlight warms it, the vapour condenses on a cooler surface and drips out as liquid. With ambient sunlight only, this gave 2.8 litres of water per kilogram of MOF per day at 20% relative humidity.
- [Iron MOF nanoparticles for drug delivery](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mil-100-fe-nanoparticles-drug-delivery) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/metal-organic-frameworks/mil-100-fe-nanoparticles-drug-delivery.md)): Nanoparticles of MIL-100(Fe), an iron(III) trimesate with mesoporous cages, soak up large amounts of drugs that are hard to formulate, such as busulfan, the antiviral AZT triphosphate, cidofovir and doxorubicin. A PEG coat can be added for longer circulation. The particles release their cargo over time, break down to iron and trimesic acid, and the iron makes them visible by MRI.