Promising Functional Metal-Organic Frameworks for Gas Adsorption, Separation and Purification

The various aspects concerned with society as a whole, such as energy utilization, industrial manufacturing and environmental protection have a close relation to the discipline of adsorption, separation and purification of gases. Explicitly, the storage of methane and hydrogen is vital for the prevalent use of clean energy; carbon dioxide separation is important in terms of the increased greenhouse effect; storage and separation of toxic gases, viz., ammonia and carbon monoxide, are significant for regulation of pollution and for production of industrial chemicals. In comparison to classical porous adsorbents (e.g., activated carbon, zeolite and silica-based systems), the intriguing structural features of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) such as porous nature, enormous surface area, adaptable pore dimensions and flexible functionality enable such materials to exhibit great prospects in the area of storage as well as separation of gas. In this chapter, we hope to throw some light on some current developments in the field of storage, separation, and purification of gases by using some benchmark and currently developed MOFs. The chemical characteristics of MOFs that are desired for storage and separation of various gases will also be emphasized in this work. In a nutshell, a major emphasis on the current status of energy-related gases like hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4), separation of various gases and removal of some toxic gases like nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter are reviewed.