Industrialising Metal–Organic Frameworks─Bridging Laboratory Innovation and Future Applications

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted great attention for a few decades, because of their unique properties and exceptionally diverse applications across various industrial fields. Such materials offer great promise for addressing global challenges in energy storage and conversion, greenhouse gas emissions and biomedical applications. However, the transition from laboratory-scale synthesis to industrial production and successful application is hindered by various obstacles, including scalability issues, economic barriers, environmental and safety concerns, and material performance limitations. This Perspective article provides a timely overview of the current challenges and promising solutions to the industrialization of MOFs. We discuss current approaches for MOF industrialization and compare their advantages and limitations in different MOF processes, such as flow chemistry, mechanochemical and electrochemical. This contribution also highlights the significance of exploring green processing methods, designing advanced materials, integrating calculations for predictions and assessing the environmental and economic impact using life cycle assessments and techno-economic analyses.