Engineering Metal Organic Frameworks for Heterogeneous Catalysis

The research done on metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and how one can engineer metal organic frameworks to build catalysts in which the active sites could be the metals at the nodes of the framework was studied. The possibility to generate the metal component of the MOF with a large variety of transition metals could be largely exploited for Lewis acid catalysis, provided that the metal is able to accept electrons from the reactant. In addition, the organic component of the MOF can support acid, base, or acid-base pairs that will allow one to perform cascade reactions. MOFs offer great promise as enantioselective catalysts. Asymmetric syntheses are routinely practiced in the synthesis of drugs, and these reactions are almost completely performed using expensive homogeneous catalysts. By using chiral ligands, a vast number of new MOFs would be available to be tested in this field. MOFs, if properly engineered, can complement the inorganic molecular sieves, as catalysts in the field of chemicals and fine chemicals production.