UCLA

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs) are porous crystalline materials comprised of organic units (links) and metal oxide units (secondary building units) with surface areas often exceeding 1000 m²/g. These materials are finding increased applications in gas storage, gas separation, and catalysis. In this thesis new MOFs and ZIFs are synthesized to further these applications. Special attention is paid to the synthesis of frameworks, which can be postsynthetically modified with new functionalities including metal centers. Design metrics for postmodification are realized, including pore size, chemical stability, and incorporation of metalation sites in frameworks. Finally, enhancement of gas adsorption across a series of frameworks is investigated.