Metal–organic frameworks for aromatic-based VOC capture

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials, in which inorganic secondary building units are stitched together by organic linkers via strong coordinated bonds to form high-porosity periodic structures. The modular nature of the structure design allows this class of materials to be designed and synthesized with a tunable pore size and chemical properties, which are critical for a myriad of practical applications. MOFs have particularly received recognition interest for the capture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), especially those composed of aromatic rings, because they are highly toxic and harmful to human health. The current regulations regarding the low concentration of aromatic-based VOCs in indoor air or effluent stream for a safe working environment further heighten the necessity of using MOF-based adsorbents that can capture at the trace level. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the design and synthesis of MOFs in terms of enhancing the aromatic-based VOC adsorption at low pressure together with engineering strategies for enhancing hydrophobicity and material shaping to avoid the pressure drop in the breakthrough capture of the VOCs. We expect this review to provide the basis for assisting further material design to develop MOFs for the capture of aromatic-based VOCs.