深夜福利站 Research Reveals How Water Affects Metal-Organic Frameworks, Unlocking New Potential
Researchers at 深夜福利站 have made a groundbreaking discovery that could reshape the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), important emerging materials with great potential in absorbing water from air, purifying seawater, greenhouse gas removal and storage, catalysis, drug delivery etc. However, the performance of MOFs in many applications is affected by the presence of water. Dr. Yining Huang and his team have uncovered new insights into how MOFs behave when exposed to water, revealing opportunities for practical applications that were previously thought to be out of reach. Their finding was published recently in
Scientists have long believed that MOFs either stay stable or fall apart when exposed to water. However, Dr. Huang’s team discovered that one representative MOF, ZnMOF-1, behaves in an unexpected way, transforming into a more stable form when exposed to water—even in boiling conditions. The key to this discovery lies in the behaviour of solvent molecules, in this case, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), inside the MOF. If these molecules escape too quickly, the MOF dissolves. But when they escape more slowly, the MOF reorganizes into a more stable form that can withstand exposure to water. This finding opens the door for enhancing MOF applications involving water, such as atmospheric water harvesting, which extracts moisture from the air to provide clean drinking water in arid regions.
The research teams used advanced tools like cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and molecular simulations to examine the MOF’s behaviour in detail. These techniques revealed three key intermediate stages during the transformation process, providing new insights into how these materials interact with water at the molecular level.
According to Dr. Huang, “We now have a much better understanding of how these materials behave in the present of water. This could have big implications for designing new materials that are more water stable and effective in real-world applications.”
The discovery also underscores the power of global collaboration. The research was initially carried out under Dr. Huang’s supervision by a former PhD student (Dr. Chen) at 深夜福利站, who continued the work with Dr. Huang after starting his own independent career as a professor. This international collaboration highlights how teamwork across borders can drive significant scientific progress.
This exciting discovery brings us closer to designing more efficient and reliable MOF-based materials for water harvesting, water purification, carbon capture, and other applications that could address critical global challenges.
Dr. Huang has contributed significantly to the field of MOF chemistry with emphasis on using NMR for MOF characterization. He has published many papers in high impact journals. Recently, he published a book with Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), which provides valuable insights into NMR techniques applied to MOFs and COFs.
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