Toward Scalable and Sustainable Synthesis of Metal–Organic Frameworks

Over the past three decades, porous crystalline materials, particularly metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with well-defined structures, have garnered tremendous attention within the scientific community due to their potential for diverse real-world applications, especially for gas storage and capture and chemical separation. Despite the remarkable progress made to date, the journey from laboratory exploration to industrial implementation remains challenging, considering stringent requirements on the synthesis scale, cost, energy consumption, and environmental impact, to name a few. Achieving MOFs at large scale with low cost, high purity, and yield, as well as excellent reproducibility, is crucial for their commercialization and widespread industrial utility. This Perspective delves into the latest developments in the scalable production of MOFs by various synthesis routes at different research laboratories, exemplified by several case studies. Methods and approaches that have been found to be effective in improving scalability and sustainability are highlighted. We also discuss inherent challenges and provide insight into possible solutions.