Removal of Toxic Chemicals Using Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been investigated for a wide range of applications, most notably gas storage, separations, and sensing.  Only recently have advances been made in the area of toxic chemical remediation focusing on potentially catalytic chemistries for removal.  Here we discuss the use of several metal-organic frameworks to remove chemical warfare agent as well as other less-toxic, yet still problematic, chemicals such as chlorine and alkyl halides.  In particular, we focus on multiple removal mechanisms, including hydrolysis as well as nucleophilic attack, to mitigate these chemicals.