Metal-organic frameworks
Our main research interest lies in the preparation and applications of nanoporous materials – materials that contain pores less than 50 nm across. Much of our research involves metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are a relatively new type of porous material. MOFs are coordination network structures in which metal centres are linked into extended structures by bridging organic ligands, as shown in the example below.
A key aspect of MOFs is the potential they show for porosity, and they are currently attracting a high level of interest, largely as a consequence of this. The pores can be exploited for applications as diverse as gas storage, separations, catalysis and drug delivery.
