Porous metal–organic frameworks (PMOFs) have attracted significant interest because of their potential application in gas storage, and the use of MOFs in this respect depends on their structural features. The careful selection of the linkers, and modification of pore size/shape and surface area can improve the gas absorption capacity significantly.

Parimal K. Bharadwaj, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, and colleagues have synthesized a highly porous Cu^II MOF that exhibits significant gas absorption abilities. It absorbs appreciable amounts of CO₂ gas selectively from a mixture of H₂, N₂, and CH₄ at 273 K. Furthermore, the absorbed CO₂ can be converted to cyclic carbonate under relatively mild reaction conditions.

The presence of coordinatively unsaturated metal sites and large voids also make this compound an excellent heterogeneous catalyst for “click reactions” as well as in the one-pot synthesis of A³-coupling reactions, which shows the versatility of the material. The studies of CO₂ capture and separation at low pressures have practical implications, such as removing CO₂ from flue gases, landfill gases, natural gas, and is considered to be an important approach for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and clean energy generation.

• A Versatile Cu^IIMetal-Organic Framework Exhibiting High Gas Storage Capacity with Selectivity for CO₂: Conversion of CO₂ to Cyclic Carbonate and Other Catalytic Abilities,
  Dinesh De, Tapan K. Pal, Subhadip Neogi, S. Senthilkumar, Debasree Das, Sayam Sen Gupta, Parimal K. Bharadwaj,
  Chem. Eur. J. 2016.
  DOI: 10.1002/chem.201504747