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Beyond the classic silicate glasses, virtually every class of liquid, including metallic, molecular, covalent, and ionic liquids, can be used to form glassy materials. However, there have been few examples thus far of nanoporous glass, a structure that could be useful for numerous applications. In a new study (Spotlight in JACS), Austen Angell, and colleagues from UC Berkeley including Omar Yaghi report a novel glass based on a metal-organic-framework (MOF), the compound type composed of metal cluster “nodes” connected by a network of organic ligand “struts” (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b07078).
Starting with a MOF made of titanium-oxo nodes and bisphenol struts, the researchers dissolve this material in the solvent modulator m-cresol, which competitively coordinates to the metal nodes. After gradually removing the solvent modulator with evaporation through low heat, the glassy solid left behind has the porosity of a MOF, but more robust mechanical properties. Further investigation shows that the solid has pores separated by about 2 nm, with a total internal surface area of approximately 300 m2/g. The results demonstrate that the porosity of MOFs can be translated to glassy materials that have great potential for industrial applications.