MOF Porous Materials Expected to Enable Carbon Dioxide Capture
"Those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind."
This sentence, left in Alfred Nobel's will in 1895, has served as the standard for the Nobel Prize ever since. Beginning in 1901, the prize has gone to researchers who have improved human lives and contributed to scientific progress. Marie Curie's research on radiation laid the groundwork for cancer treatment, opening the possibility of conquering the disease, while Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin ensured that humanity would no longer die from infectious diseases.
In this way, the Nobel Prize has always been awarded to scientific research that solves the greatest challenges facing humanity. So what can "science for humanity" do today? The new crisis we face is climate change.
The climate crisis threatens the survival of humanity and the Earth's ecosystems, making even the near future uncertain. Scientists are issuing increasingly urgent warnings about this threat.
In 2021, more than 13,800 scientists from over 150 countries issued a joint declaration calling for an end to fossil fuel use and the protection of biodiversity. The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report in 2023 warned that if global temperatures rise more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, extreme climate change and its resulting damage will accelerate.
Scientists are not only raising their voices — they are also developing new technologies in an effort to restore the damaged planet. Among the most innovative solutions being highlighted is the Metal-Organic Framework, or MOF.
MOFs with porous structures can selectively capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from exhaust gases through chemical reactions while releasing nitrogen (N₂). This technology could significantly reduce the amount of carbon emitted from factories. (Image credit: Svante)
A MOF is a porous material formed by the combination of metal ions — such as iron, zinc, or magnesium — and organic ligands. Organic ligands are organic molecules that bond with metal ions to form complexes. What makes this material particularly noteworthy is its "porosity."
A porous material is, quite literally, a substance full of holes — charcoal being a prime example. Charcoal is the carbon residue left after wood burns, and under a microscope it is packed with microscopic pores. The reason porosity matters is that these holes dramatically increase the material's surface area.
Just one gram of the material contains a surface area equivalent to that of a football pitch. Such a vast internal surface area means the material can react with far more molecules. What makes MOFs especially remarkable is that they are "the first porous materials in which humanity has been able to precisely design and synthesize a three-dimensional metal-organic structure with tailored properties."
The most promising application is carbon dioxide capture. If MOFs can be used to rapidly capture CO₂ from the atmosphere, they could become a powerful weapon in the fight against the climate crisis. They also have potential across a wide range of other fields, including energy applications such as gas storage and hydrogen fuel storage.
Thanks to these advantages, MOFs are being called a "game changer" in the response to the climate crisis. Professor Moon Hoi-ri of the Department of Chemistry and Nano Science at Ewha Womans University, an expert in the field of MOFs, said in an interview with Science Dong-A on September 3rd: "The commercialization of MOFs is drawing quite close," adding, "There is a strong likelihood that MOF-related research will win a Nobel Prize within the next five years."
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