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Materials science

Open season for solid frameworks

Nature volume 402, pages 242–243 (1999)Cite this article

Zeolites are inorganic solids whose crystal structures are perforated by millions of tiny pores and channels that allow the movement of ions and water molecules. These ‘molecular sieves’ have found widespread applications in industry for catalysis and for separating materials, such as in oil refining1. In the home, zeolites are found in water softeners where sodium ions in the pores are easily exchanged with calcium and magnesium ions dissolved in hard water. Until four years ago, such microporosity was thought to be limited to a select group of silicate- or phosphate-based zeolites, with a few notable exceptions. A novel metal–organic framework, reported by Li et al.2 on page 276 of this issue, offers a new way to design microporous structures from first principles.

Many of the new ‘zeolite analogues’ are based upon metal and organic linkers, and are known as coordination polymers. The first generation of coordination polymers that were made by crystal-engineering strategies (as opposed to chance) had various problems. Some synthetic compounds failed to support a vacuum because of interpenetration by two or more independent networks3, whereas others irreversibly collapsed in the absence of guest molecules4. Subsequent studies produced a second generation of ‘open frameworks’ that are more closely related to zeolites as they are robust enough to survive complete loss of guest molecules and they can reversibly exchange small volatile molecules. Such structures can either be purely organic and sustained by hydrogen bonds5 or they can be based upon coordination-polymer frameworks6. It is reasonable to claim that the new compound designed by Li et al.2 — Zn4O(BDC)3, where BDC is benzenedicarboxylate — is the prototype for a third generation of open frameworks that offer a number of advantages over traditional zeolites.

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Figure 1: A microporous material designed from first principles.

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  1. the Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, 33620, Florida, USA

    Michael J. Zaworotko

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  1. Michael J. Zaworotko
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Correspondence to Michael J. Zaworotko.

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Zaworotko, M. Open season for solid frameworks. Nature 402, 242–243 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/46182

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