Engineering a Meltable MOF to Tune Liquid Transition and Promote Coenzyme Regeneration

Modulating the liquid phase of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) presents new opportunities for functionalizing glassy MOFs, expanding the fundamental science and practical application for this emerging family of materials. Herein, we report the fabrication of a bimetallic glassy MOF via a liquid-liquid transition process. This is achieved by introducing a robust Schiff base-cobalt functional group into Zn-ZIF-62, which attracts negatively charged imidazolate ligands, facilitating low-temperature melting. This ultimately leads to the formation of a bimetallic glassy MOF (Co/Zn-a_gZIF-62-ipy) upon melt-quenching. The material features an exceptionally high glass-forming capability, uniformly distributed bimetallic ions, and a markedly enhanced visible light photogeneration efficiency of enzymatically active nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) when compared with Co-doped ZIF-62 glass. These findings offer novel insights into modulating the liquid phase of an MOF to develop functional glassy MOF photocatalysts for coenzyme NADH regeneration and other advanced applications.