Exchange reactions in metal-organic frameworks: New advances

Abstract

There has been considerable interest and importance in using the “exchange reaction” to synthesize, modify, or functionalize metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), since the “exchange” can achieve desired changes in their structures and performances for various applications. In 2014, we published a critical review on this topic, in which the exchange of metal ions, ligands, and guests was discussed in detail. In the past five years, much progress has been made and some new and important results were published, which significantly promoted the development of MOF chemistry. In this review, the exchange reactions of the two main components of MOFs, namely metal center ions and ligands, are summarized based on the new results since 2014. The influence factors and processes of the exchange reactions are firstly discussed for guiding the design of functional MOFs. The lately reported works on exchange reactions of MOFs classified into two groups with seven subgroups are then introduced. Finally, a perspective is given, expecting that the exchange reactions will play a more and more important role in exploring novel or functional MOFs for applications in the future.