Graduate Student, Laboratory of Jiaxing Huang
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline compounds that have uniform pores with ultra-high surface areas. The pores can be used for the storage of gases such as hydrogen for clean energy and carbon dioxide for environmental protection. They are also useful in gas purification and drug delivery. MOFs are typically randomly shaped and large in size. But, Luo’s group is developing a way to synthesize MOFs into sub-micrometer spheres. The spherical shape allows for minimum contact area, which means the MOFs will stay evenly dispersed in solvents for processing.