Progress and potential of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for gas storage and separation: A review

Gas storage and separation plays the most critically vital role in the utilization of energy resources and the petrochemical industry in modern society. The development of industry and technology has brought higher requirements and challenges to energy gas storage and hydrocarbon separation technology. Porous coordination polymers (PCPs) or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as one of the emerging porous crystalline materials with ultra-high specific surface area, are constructed via metal ions/clusters and organic linkers, which can be tailored for pore size and function, not only suitable for high-density storage of energy-related gases, but also the ability to separate target gases from hydrocarbon mixtures through host-guest interactions or sieving effects, resulting in low-energy footprint separations. This critical review summarizes recent advances in MOFs for hydrogen, methane, and acetylene storage, as well as carbon dioxide capture and light hydrocarbon separation. We mainly outline three feasible strategies for constructing efficient MOF adsorbents: high porosity, optimal framework structure and porosity, and functional group modification, discuss their representative examples, and highlight material design strategies and the structure-property relationship. Furthermore, we provide an outlook on the potential challenges and prospects for future progress of gas storage and separation in MOFs from laboratory scale to practical industrial implementation.