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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
A hafnium-based metal-organic framework as an efficient and multifunctional catalyst for facile CO2 fixation and
Hudson Beyzavi1, Rachel C Klet, Samat Tussupbayev
1International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) and Center for the Chemistry of Integrated Systems (CCIS), Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3113, United States.
Abstract:
Porous heterogeneous catalysts play a pivotal role in the chemical industry. Herein a new Hf-based metal-organic framework (Hf-NU-1000) incorporating Hf6 clusters is reported. It demonstrates high catalytic efficiency for the activation of epoxides, facilitating the quantitative chemical fixation of CO2 into five-membered cyclic carbonates under ambient conditions, rendering this material an excellent catalyst. As a multifunctional catalyst, Hf-NU-1000 is also efficient for other epoxide activations, leading to the regioselective and enantioretentive formation of 1,2-bifuctionalized systems via solvolytic nucleophilic ring opening.
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