SmartMOFs · Smart Metal Organic Frameworks for Sensing Volatile Organic Compounds

Smart Metal Organic Frameworks for Sensing Volatile Organic Compounds

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constitute one of the most exciting developments in recent nanoporous material science. Synthesised in a self-assembly process from metal centers and organic linkers, a nearly infinite number of materials can be created by combining different units. The porous nature of MOFs allows to trap guests in the voids of their structure and, playing on the choice of the building blocks, to finely tune the host-guest interaction. MOFs are therefore considered promising materials for many applications such as gas separation, drug delivery or sensing. Sensitive and selective detection systems for harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are highly needed for many applications, such as industrial process management, chemical threat detection, medical diagnostics, food quality control, occupational safety, and environmental monitoring. SmartMOFs aimed at producing new MOFs with interesting optical and electrical properties and enhanced selectivity and sensitivity towards harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The project included the full characterization (structural, optical, electrical) of the new MOFs using specialised techniques, and the study of the possibility to integrate these MOFs into sensory devices. More specifically, the main targets of the project were: - Proper design and selection of metal centers and ligands to create MOFs with the desired properties in terms of absorption/luminescence, electrical conductivity and gas adsorption; - Preparation of MOFs with combined transduction mechanisms and validation of their selective and sensible recognition activity towards the most harmful VOCs; - Integration of the final stimuli-responsive MOFs (SR-MOFs) into devices by employing novel thin-film growth techniques. The innovation of SmartMOFs is based on a combined sensing approach, where both optical and electrical changes in the MOF material enable the recognition event. The primary step to meet the required combination of specific absorption/emission and conductivity properties is the selection of the MOF structural units. The starting building units are selected to offer extensive connectivity, flexibility, tuneable porosity and functionalization of the inner surface of the network, with groups interacting with the analytes by means of coordination bonds, p-p interactions or hydrogen bonds.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union