Application of metal-organic frameworks in natural gas storage

In recent years, fossil energy sources have been diminishing as global energy demand grows. The combustion of traditional petroleum fuels also produces large amounts of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming. Natural gas has attracted widespread attention as a relatively cleaner and cheaper energy source. The main component of natural gas is methane. However, due to the poor safety of methane under standard conditions, its application in practical storage and transmission is greatly limited. To use methane fuel routinely, the development of a safe, low-cost, and efficient methane storage strategy is an urgent issue. Metal-organic skeletons (MOFs), as a new class of efficient adsorption and separation materials, have received great attention in the field of gas storage due to their high specific surface area, designability, and size tunability. In this paper, the basic characteristics of MOFs are first introduced. Then, the mechanism of methane adsorption by MOFs is explained and its main influencing factors are summarized. Finally, this paper also proposes relevant modification strategies to improve the ability of MOFs to store methane.