Rare-earth metal-organic frameworks: from structure to applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are advanced materials with tunable properties and diverse structures.
• Rare-earth elements (RE), including lanthanides, offer unique coordination numbers and optical characteristics.
• RE-MOFs combine the general MOF properties with unique RE-element attributes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the progress and discoveries in rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (RE-MOFs).
• To categorize RE-MOF structures based on their metal node composition.
• To explore the diverse applications of RE-MOFs.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of research on RE-MOFs.
• Classification of RE-MOF structures into RE(iii)-ions, RE(iii)-chains, and RE(iii)-clusters.
• Highlighting key applications supported by research examples.

Main Results:

• RE-MOFs exhibit diverse structural motifs based on RE-metal nodes.
• RE-MOFs demonstrate potential in chemical sensing, luminescence, bioimaging, drug delivery, catalysis, and gas adsorption.
• Unique optical and structural properties arise from the incorporation of RE elements.

Conclusions:

• RE-MOFs represent a significant and versatile class of materials.
• Their unique properties enable a broad spectrum of advanced applications.
• Continued research into RE-MOFs promises further innovation in materials science and beyond.