Metal-Organic Frameworks as Selective or Chiral Oxidation Catalysts

Abstract

Since the discovery of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) in the early 1990s, the amount of new structures has grown exponentially. A MOF typically consists of inorganic nodes that are connected by organic linkers to form crystalline, highly porous structures. MOFs have attracted a lot of attention lately, as the versatile design of such materials holds promises of interesting applications in various fields. In this review, we will focus on the use of MOFs as heterogeneous oxidation catalysts. MOFs are very promising candidates to replace homogeneous catalysts by sustainable and stable heterogeneous catalysts. The catalytic active function can be either the active metal sites of the MOF itself or can be introduced as an extra functionality in the linker, a dopant or a “ship-in-a-bottle” complex. As the pore size, pore shape, and functionality of MOFs can be designed in numerous ways, shape selectivity, and even chiral selectivity can be created. In this article, we will present an overview on the state of the art of the use of MOFs as a heterogeneous catalyst in liquid phase oxidation reactions.