Metal–organic framework (MOF) is an emerging hybrid material that possesses high surface area, narrow pore size distribution, and tuneable functionality. In recent years, MOF-based materials have been widely studied in various applications such as gas storage, gas separation, heterogeneous catalysis, and drug delivery. However, less emphasis has been placed on the fundamentals of MOF that are crucial to provide scientific knowledge for tailoring MOFs with desirable properties for commercial applications. This review discusses recent advancement in the MOF chemistry, in particular, synthesis, activation, functionalisation, and bulk production of MOFs. This review will be of great interest to the researchers and chemists actively involved in the field of MOFs production. Abbreviations: BBR: Building block replacement; BDC: 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate; BET: Brunauer–Emmett–Teller; BTC: 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate; B_oc: Tert-butoxycarbonyl; Bpy: 4,4’-bipyridine; CFG: Carboxylic functional group; CTAB: Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide; DABCO: 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane; DEF: N, N-diethylformamide; DMF: N, N-dimethylformamide; Dhybdc: 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate; [EMIm]Br: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide; FIR: Fujian Institute of Research; H₂BDC: 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; H₃BTC: 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid; H₄TBAPy: 1,3,6,8-tetrakis( p-benzoic acid)pyrene; HKUST: Hong-Kong University of Science and Technology; ICP-MS: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; ILAG: Ion- and liquid-assisted grinding; Im: Imidazole ; IPA: Isophthalate; IRMOF: Isoreticular metal–organic framework; IUPAC: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; LAG: Liquid-assisted grinding; LBL: Layer-by-layer; LIB: Lithium-ion battery; mesoMOF: Mesoporous metal–organic framework; MeIm: 2-methyimidazole; MIL: Matériaux de l'Institut Lavoisier; MixMOF: Mixed-linker metal–organic framework; MOF: Metal–organic framework; MTBS: Methyltributylammoniummethylsulfate; NH₂BTC: 2-aminobenzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate; NOTT: University of Nottingham; NU: Northwestern University ; PCD: Protection-complexation-deprotection; PCN: Porous coordination network; PCP: Porous coordination polymer; PIM: Polymer of intrinsic microporosity; PSD: Post-synthetic deprotection; PSM: Post-synthetic modification; PXRD: Powder X-ray diffraction; PyCHO: 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde; RH: Relative humidity; SALE: Solvent-assisted linker exchange; SALI: Solvent-assisted ligand incorporation; scCO₂: Supercritical carbon dioxide; STEM: Scanning transmission electron microscopy; STY: Space–time yield; TBHP: tert-butyl hydroperoxide; TMU: Tarbiat Modares University; UiO: Universitetet i Oslo; ZIF: Zeolitic imidazolate framework

A gravimetric study of the solvothermal dimethylformamide-mediated crystallisation of the metal–organic framework ZIF-8 has enabled the rate constants and activation energies of the nucleation and crystal growth processes to be determined. The kinetics analyses reveal the crystallisation is nucleation controlled with activation energies for nucleation and crystal growth of 115.1 and 87.7 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The results are compared to the crystallisation kinetics for other syntheses of ZIF-8 and other MOFs to reveal the importance that different solvents, different metal ion/organic linker ratios and the presence of deprotonating modulators have on these processes. Temporal ex situ monitoring of the crystal morphology and surface topography during crystallisation reveals the crystals evolve to the equilibrium rhombic dodecahedral morphology via edge-truncated cubic and corner-truncated rhombic dodecahedral habits while relatively smooth surfaces containing large truncated rhombic surface terraces and growth spirals develop through rough surfaces consisting of numerous ill-defined small growth islands and steps. The combination of techniques applied over different size scales provides important understanding for potential control over the crystal properties of MOFs for new application or enhanced performance in current applications.

Radiation shielding incorporates material between the radioactive source and environment to decrease exposure to hazardous radiation. It remains to be seen whether the addition of nanoparticles effectively increases the protection of tellurite glass system from further degradation under irradiation conditions. This study revealed the gamma radiation effects on tellurite glass. The tellurite glass samples were irradiated with 50 kGy and 100 kGy gamma ray, and subsequently analysed using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). Gamma radiation increased the creation of non-bridging oxygen (NBO) and caused colour change on TZNETi and TZNETiAl glasses. Consequently, the addition of aluminium oxides (Al₂O₃) was found to lower the density of glass systems. The glass samples surface roughness increased, while the optical transmission spectra decreased after 50 kGy of gamma ray irradiation. Nevertheless, the glass system maintained its transparency even after irradiation. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values represented the shielding effectiveness demonstrated by the investigated glass with the addition of Al₂O₃. The physical, structural, optical, and radiation shielding properties showed that 69.1TeO₂–20ZnO–9Na₂O–1Er₂O₃–0.3TiO₂–0.6Al₂O₃ (TZNETiAl) sample exhibited strong shielding properties amongst the fabricated tellurite samples.

Investigation of the impurities leaching behavior of the syringe filters.