To date, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been recognized as promising solid phases in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This research aimed to elucidate the role of the physico-chemical characteristics of the microporous HKUST-1 metal-organic framework in its operation as a selective adsorbent in HPLC. For this, the HKUST-1 samples were prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis and a solvothermal procedure. According to the chromatographic examinations, the HKUST-1 material synthesized in the microwave fields shows an efficient performance in the selective adsorption of aromatic compounds with different functionalities. This study revealed a significant impact of the preparation procedure on the mechanism of the liquid-phase adsorption on the HKUST adsorbents under conditions of the HPLC. An effect of the elution solvent with the different coordination ability to the Cu²⁺ sites in the HKUST-1 structure on the adsorption selectivity was observed.

Novel adsorbents for methane and ethane based on HKUST-1 metal-organic framework were synthesized by microwave (MW) assisted technique using ionic liquids (ILs) as synthesis media. It was found that the MW synthesis time remarkably impacts both the product yield and the physico-chemical characteristics of the produced HKUST-1 material. The crystalline phase purity, crystallite size/dispersion and textural properties of the synthesized HKUST-1 matrices determine their performance in methane and ethane adsorption. Therefore, the HKUST-1 material produced in MW fields for 3 min only shows the highest phase purity and the largest surface area (BET) and porosity, along with a rather small crystallite size (below ~300 nm), demonstrating high methane and ethane adsorption capacity in the pressure range 1–30 atm.

New methods for the preparation of metal–organic frameworks UiO-66 and NH₂-UiO-66 with a hierarchical porous structure were developed using the MW-assisted technique under atmospheric pressure. The synthesized nanostructured meso-UiO-66 and meso-NH₂-UiO-66 matrices were utilized as Au nanoparticle carriers. The resulting Au@meso-UiO-66 and Au@NH₂-UiO-66 nanohybrids were studied in the reaction of phenylacetylene hydroamination with aniline into imine ([phenyl-(1-phenylethylydene)amine]) for the first time. Their catalytic behavior is significantly determined by a combination of factors, such as a small crystal size, micro–mesoporous structure, and functionality of the UiO-66 and NH₂-UiO-66 carriers, as well as a high dispersion of embedded gold nanoparticles. The Au@meso-UiO-66 and Au@NH₂-UiO-66 nanocatalysts demonstrate high activities (TOF), with conversion and selectivity values over 90. This excellent catalytic performance is comparable or even better than that demonstrated by heterogeneous systems based on conventional inorganic and inorganic supports known from the literature.

Composite materials have been used based on coordination polymers or microporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) combined with mesoporous matrices for adsorption-related techniques, which enable outflanking some adverse phenomena manifested during pristine components operation and enhance the performance and selectivity of the resulting materials. In this work, for the first time, the novel HKUST-1@BPS composites synthesized by the microwave-assisted (MW) technique starting from microporous HKUST-1 (Cu₃(btc)₂) MOF and biporous silica matrix (BPS) with bimodal mesopore size distribution were comparatively studied as materials for liquid-phase adsorption techniques utilizing the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method and benzene as a model adsorbate. It was established that the studied HKUST-1@BPS composites can function as stationary phases for HPLC, unlike the pristine HKUST-1 and bare BPS materials, due to the synergetic effect of both components based on the preliminary enhanced adsorbate mass transfer throughout the silica mesopores and, subsequently, its penetrating into HKUST-1 micropores. The suggested mechanism involves the initial deactivation of open metal Cu²⁺ sites in the HKUST-1 framework structure by isopropanol molecules upon adding this polar component into the mobile phase in the region of the isopropanol concentration of 0.0 to 0.2 vol.%. Thereafter, at the medium range of varying the isopropanol concentration in the eluent of 0.2 to 0.3 vol.%, there is an expansion of the previously inaccessible adsorption centers in the HKUST-1@BPS composites. Subsequently, while further increasing the isopropanol volume fraction in the eluent in the region of 0.3 to 5.0 vol.%, the observed behavior of the studied chromatographic systems is similar to the quasi-normal-phase HPLC pattern. According to the obtained thermodynamic data, benzene adsorption into HKUST-1 micropores from solutions with a vol.% of isopropanol in the range of 0.4 to 5.0 follows the unique entropy-driven mechanism previously described for the MIL-53(Al) framework. It was found that HKUST-1 loading in the composites and their preparation conditions have pronounced effects on their physicochemical properties and adsorption performance, including the adsorption mechanism.

Application of porous coordination polymers (PCPs), which include metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in sensors for detection of toxicant pollutants in water is discussed. Particular attention is given to electrochemical and photoluminescent sensors because PCPs/MOFs demonstrate good selectivity towards adsorption of molecules in combination with outstanding luminescent properties and electroconductivity in composite materials. The use of PCPs/MOFs as pre-concentrators of the compounds to be analyzed is also outlined. The review covers the results described in the literature over the past 5 years in such diverse fields as the determination of metal ions and anions, drugs, mycotoxins, pesticides, explosives, bacteria, etc. Thus, the review demonstrates the proliferation of MOF applications and the universal nature of sensors based on them.

A PET-UiO-66 sample of metal-organic framework UiO-66 (Zr₆O₄(OH)₄bdc, bdc = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate/terephthalate), a promising adsorbent of persistent organic pollutants from aqueous media, is prepared using an original procedure assisted by MW activation of the reaction mass under atmospheric pressure following a one-step approach in the nontraditional “green” solvent triethylene glycol. The PET-UiO-66 material is synthesized using polymer waste (polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) as an organic linker (terephthalic or benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, H₂bdc) to create the framework. Its adsorption activity is studied for the first time in the adsorption removal of the food dye tartrazine (Е-102) from aqueous media. It is established that the kinetics of adsorption is obeyed to a pseudo-second order, and its thermodynamics fits the Langmuir model.