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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Author Spotlight: Exploring Self-Assembled MOF-Polymer Composites
Published on: June 14, 2024
Enhanced mechanical properties of a metal-organic framework by polymer insertion
Tomoya Iizuka1, Kayako Honjo, Takashi Uemura
1Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan.
Abstract:
The mechanical strength of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is highly relevant for their practical applications. In this research, we show that encapsulation of polymer chains into MOF nanochannels can effectively restrain the breakage of coordination bonding in MOFs and inhibit the amorphization under high physical pressure. The hardness of single MOF crystals was greatly improved, which depended on the direction of the inserted polymers, as revealed by nanoindentation analysis. Insertion of polymer chains did not influence the crystal structure of MOFs, which indicates that this approach should be highly promising for improving the mechanical properties of MOFs.
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