Metal-organic frameworks for separation of organic compounds in liquid phase

Abstract

Abstract Liquid-phase separation underpins numerous sectors of modern chemical industry, yet achieving high selectivity for separation of mixtures of organic compounds remains a persistent challenge. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), showing exceptional tunability in composition, topology and pore environment, hold unique promise to address this challenge. This review surveys recent progress in studies of MOFs for the selective extraction and purification of organic substrates in liquid phase, with a focus on elucidating the mechanism of selectivity. Function-directed design principles, encompassing tailored bonding interactions, programmable supramolecular environments and pore-confinement effects, are discussed as enabling precise control over transport processes. These concepts are examined across key application domains, including removal of pollutants in water treatment, the separation of structurally similar hydrocarbons in petrochemical refinery and the selective discrimination of daily pharmaceuticals. Opportunities for the next generation of MOF-based sorbents are outlined, highlighting challenges associated with scalability and long-term operational stability, and the growing roles of artificial intelligence (AI)-guided discovery in developing sustainable separation technologies are further projected.