Themed collection Emerging Trends in Advanced Functional Porous Materials

MOF-composites are porous materials with a large surface area and functionalized with other types of materials (metallic nanoparticles, oxides, zeolites, etc.), affording optimal and chemically stable structures for wastewater remediation.

This review highlights recent advances in porous material-based electrocatalysts (MOFs, COFs, porous carbons) for CO₂ reduction, focusing on structure–activity relationships, product selectivity, and future industrial prospects.

A series of rare-earth metal–organic frameworks were synthesized based on a pentiptycene-octacarboxylic ligand.

Co₂(OH)(5-cnapp)(H₂O) (1) and [Co₈(OH)(4-cnapp)₅(H₂O)₁₀]·12H₂O (2) were obtained using positionally isomeric phosphonic acids. Compound 1 contains distorted Co₃(μ₃-OH) kagomé layers and shows long-range weak ferromagnetic ordering below 30 K.

Three chiral MOFs with BINOL-derived tetrabenzoate ligands were developed for luminescence sensing of 1-phenyl-1,2-ethandiol (PE) enantiomers, with hydroxy groups significantly enhancing luminescence quenching by S-PE.

Multitopic phosphine ligands combined with Rh(I) or Ir(I) nodes assemble into low-valent metal–organic frameworks (LVMOFs) with a two-dimensional (2D) topology and catalytic activity.

The methyl-functionalized MOF ZJU-64-Me achieved better adsorption performances than ZJU-64 via dual selectivity mechanism (electrostatic attraction and steric discrimination). A ZJU-64-Me@SA membrane was then fabricated for practical applications.

In this work we expand the family of ZIFs capable of being melt-quenched into a vitreous phase with the first Mn-based glass.

By decorating nonpolar ferrocene (Fc) units in a robust metal–organic framework through a postsynthetic modification approach, MOF-808-6Fc is obtained, which exhibit more suitable pore volume and stronger affinity toward C₂H₂ and C₂H₆ over C₂H₄.

Photocatalytic C-3 thiocyanation of indoles over tetraphenylsilane-based porous aromatic frameworks shows outstanding performance in terms of catalytic activity (up to 99% yield), substrate scope (15 examples), and recyclability (5 times).

This work presents a sustainable PVDF/CCNF/MIL-125(Ti) membrane with ultrafiltration, self-cleaning, and photocatalytic functions, offering high flux, antifouling, and pollutant removal for scalable water purification.

An ionic porous organic cage (OFT-RCC3⁶⁺6Br⁻) served as a metal-free catalyst for the solvent-free conversion of CO₂ into cyclic carbonates, achieving high catalytic turnover.

Synthesis of hierarchical porous Zn/Co bimetallic ZIF and controlling Zn/Co ratio in the ZIF.

A copper (Cu) foam supported Cu₂O@NiMn₂O₃ heterostructure with a porous texture was designed to serve as a bifunctional electrode for photo-supercapacitors with high energy efficiencies.

A flower-like chiral MOF membrane was constructed via Cu²⁺ coordination with R/S-tryptophan, enabling enantioselective amino acid separation (ee up to 99.38%) through synergistic hydrogen bonding, π–π interactions, and steric hindrance.

This study presents a novel multi-stage membrane column separation system that synergistically integrates membrane and column separation technologies, resulting in enhanced separation efficiency for Yb³⁺/Lu³⁺.

Rich edge-type Fe single-atom sites were fabricated by a Bi-assisted pyrolysis method, exhibiting high performance in electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction.

For the first time, we reported a single-atom palladium photocatalyst, Pd-Ace-COF, for continuous C–C coupling reaction.

We developed a robust double-network cross-linked polymer foam (DN-CPF) integrating rigid sp²C-CPPs and flexible chains, achieving 1.53 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ evaporation rate with excellent stability in high-salinity and harsh chemical environments.

Ionic ultramicroporous polymers are compositionally fine-tuned. Extending the cationic arm in a new variant is found to double the acetylene over CO₂ adsorption selectivity, underpinned by detailed computational studies on the binding sites.

A rare in situ crystal structure transformation by solvent etching occurred in hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks.

A solvent-mediated subcomponent self-assembly strategy was developed for synthesizing covalent metallacycles with different shapes.

The high reactivity of indole and formaldehyde has been successfully controlled through the confinement effect of MOF, enabling the highly selective synthesis of novel oxazole compounds via a specific reaction pathway.