New Frontiers in Metal-Organic Frameworks: Chemical, Optical, and Electrochemical Control of Pore Size/Aperture

该研究项目的重点是使用多孔材料来解决可持续化学中的挑战。例如，海绵是多孔材料。海绵的特点是它能吸收多少水。在我的实验室里，我们将研究被称为金属有机框架（mof）的多孔材料。mof是由无机金属（节点）制成的，它们通过有机分子（连接物）相互连接。在mof中，80%的晶体是空的。这80%是可供我作为研究人员调查的。与海绵不同，mof的优点是它们的孔隙非常规则和清晰。定义明确的孔具有内部体积和孔孔径（即进入孔的开口大小）。我的研究团队将专注于调整孔的体积和孔的开口，以改变分子的储存方式或与MOF的相互作用。

The research program focuses on using porous materials to address challenges in sustainable chemistry. For example, sponges are porous materials. A sponge can be characterized by how much water it can absorb. In my lab, we will work on porous materials known as Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are made from inorganic metals (nodes) which are connected to one another by organic molecules (linkers). In MOFs, 80% of the crystal is empty. This 80 % is available for me as a researcher to investigate. Unlike the sponge example, the advantage of MOFs is that their pores are very regular and well defined. A well-defined pore has an internal volume and a pore aperture (i.e., the size of the opening into the pore). My research team will focus on tuning the volume of the pore and the opening of the pore in order to change how molecules are stored or interact with the MOF.