Iranian Scientists Produce Smart Materials to Purify Water, Store Energy

With their porous structures and ability to respond to environmental conditions, these materials can be used in various fields, including catalysts, energy storage, gas absorption, and water purification. In this study, the synthesis of Ce-MOFs using green methods and in environmental conditions suitable for large-scale production has been investigated.

In a comprehensive study, researchers at the University of Zanjan have investigated the properties, synthesis methods, and applications of cerium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) (Ce-MOFs). These frameworks have attracted much attention due to their outstanding properties and have been applied in various fields like energy storage, catalysis, and pollution removal in recent years. Recent research on Ce-MOFs focuses not only on discovering new structures of these materials, but also on developing green methods for their industrial-scale production.

In this study, Ce-MOFs are categorized and investigated according to different oxidation states of cerium (Ce(III) and Ce(IV)). These metal-organic frameworks have broad potential in industry due to the variations in the crystal structures and chemical properties of cerium. The results of this study indicate that the combination of cerium with other metal ions and organic ligands can lead to the production of new structures with unique properties.

One of the prominent aspects of this research is the synthesis of Ce-MOFs using green methods and under suitable environmental conditions. These methods, in addition to reducing costs, enable large-scale production of Ce-MOFs. Also, various methods for the synthesis of these materials have been studied, including changes in synthesis conditions, selection of different ligands, and changes in crystal structures.

Within the great variety of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Cerium-based MOFs (Ce-MOFs) have achieved significant interest in the recent years and different studies have reported their great potential in different applications. Ce-MOFs with diverse valence states (Ce(III) and Ce(IV)) are first classified and discussed in view of distinct topologies, inorganic building units (IBUs), connectivity, and organic linkers. Then, concisely summarized their structural properties with emphasize on exploring their structure-property relationships.

Subsequently, the latest progress in the synthesis strategies of Ce-MOFs were summarized with highlighting the green strategies under ambient conditions that are applicable for scale-up production of Ce-MOFs. Moreover, their applications in different fields including; corrosion inhibitors, biomedical applications, energy storage and conversion, gas adsorption, separation, and conversion, catalysis/photocatalysis, chemical sensing, and water/wastewater treatment are highlighted.

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