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Porous metal–organic frameworks as emerging sorbents for clean air

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 3, pages 108–118 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides generated by anthropogenic activities are air pollutants that cause serious environmental problems and pose substantial health threats. Although established methods for emission desulfurization and denitrogenation already exist, more efficient and flexible technologies are still required. In this Review, we highlight state-of-the-art examples in which metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), an emerging class of porous sorbents, have been applied to the adsorptive removal of SO2 and NO2. MOFs can simultaneously exhibit superior adsorption capacities and exceptional selectivities for SO2 and NO2 in the presence of other flue and exhaust gases while maintaining their structural integrity. The highly crystalline nature and rich chemical functionality of MOFs have enabled the elucidation of host–guest interactions at a molecular level to afford insights and new knowledge that will inspire and inform the design of new generations of adsorbents.

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Fig. 1: SO2 removal.
Fig. 2: Examples of metal–organic frameworks tested for SO2 removal.
Fig. 3: NOx abatement.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support is provided by the UKRI (EPSRC — EP/I011870) and the European Research Council (ERC — AdG 742041 and ERC — PoC 665632).

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  1. School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Xue Han, Sihai Yang & Martin Schröder

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  1. Xue Han
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X.H. and S.Y. researched data for the article. All authors contributed equally to the writing and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sihai Yang or Martin Schröder.

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Han, X., Yang, S. & Schröder, M. Porous metal–organic frameworks as emerging sorbents for clean air. Nat Rev Chem 3, 108–118 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-019-0073-7

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