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Advances in Porous Organic Materials: Syntheses, Structures and Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 1796

Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: reticular chemistry; porous organic materials

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Guest Editor
College of Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Interests: porous organic materials; heterogeneous catalysis

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Guest Editor
College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Interests: supramolecular chemistry and functional materials; organic-inorganic hybrid biomaterials; energy conversion and catalysis; porous materials and nonporous crystalline materials; antibacterial materials and cancer theranostics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Porous organic materials are a versatile class of materials characterized by their light weight, high porosity, and large specific surface area. These materials have diverse compositions and tunable pore sizes, which classify them into micropores (<2 nm), mesopores (2–50 nm), and macropores (>50 nm). This tunability, combined with their surface properties and end functions, makes porous organic materials suitable for a wide range of applications, including separation, filtration, storage, catalysis, and drug delivery.

In recent years, the most extensively researched organic porous materials typically fall into the following categories: covalent organic frameworks (COFs), conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs), porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCPs) and porous organic cages. Depending on their structure, porous organic materials can be crystalline or amorphous, with each type offering unique properties and applications. For example, COFs have been employed extensively in gas storage and separation, catalysis, sensing, energy storage and optoelectrical applications due to their ordered structures, well-defined pore distribution and high specific surface area.

One key aspect of porous organic materials is their precise control over structures, properties, and manageable functionalities. This begins with the accurate synthesis of organic molecules, as molecular structures dictate the processing methods employed and the final structures, properties, and functionalities. In summary, porous organic materials offer significant opportunities and are poised to revolutionize multiple industries through their unique properties and applications.

Dr. Tianqiong Ma
Dr. Wankai An
Prof. Dr. Ying-Wei Yang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • porous organic materials
  • porous organic polymers (POPs)
  • covalent organic frameworks (COFs)
  • conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs)
  • porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs)
  • polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs)
  • hyper-cross-inked polymers (HCPs)
  • porous organic cages

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 12106 KB  
Article
Covalent-Organic Framework with Unconventional D-D Structure for Efficient Photocatalytic Uranium Extraction
by Dongyang Xu, Xin Du, Bingyue Zhou, Lixi Chen, Mengyao Li, Qiang Wu, Jun Liu, Songbai Tang and Guowen Peng
Molecules 2026, 31(13), 2263; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31132263 - 26 Jun 2026
Viewed by 551
Abstract
Photocatalytic extraction of uranium from radioactive wastewater is crucial for environmental safety and sustainable nuclear energy development. It is widely recognized that photocatalysts with donor-acceptor (D-A) or D-π-A structures exhibit enhanced charge separation efficiency, thereby showing excellent photocatalytic performance. Herein, we presented a [...] Read more.
Photocatalytic extraction of uranium from radioactive wastewater is crucial for environmental safety and sustainable nuclear energy development. It is widely recognized that photocatalysts with donor-acceptor (D-A) or D-π-A structures exhibit enhanced charge separation efficiency, thereby showing excellent photocatalytic performance. Herein, we presented a counterintuitive design of a donor-donor covalent-organic framework (D-D COF) for efficient photocatalytic uranium extraction. A twisted D-D COF (COF-BCTB-Py) was synthesized via solvothermal condensation using bicarbazole and pyrene as dual electron-donor units. The COF featured a well-defined AA-stacked porous structure, high specific surface area (963 m2·g−1), suitable band gap (2.44 eV), and exceptional chemical, thermal, and radiation stability. Impressively, in the presence of 5% methanol, it delivered an ultrahigh uranium uptake capacity of 4278 mg·g−1 with fast kinetics and >97% removal efficiency in complex water matrices, challenging the traditional stereotype of low-activity D-D COFs. Mechanistic studies revealed that soluble U(VI) was converted into crystalline (UO2)O2·2H2O via in situ generated hydrogen peroxide rather than being reduced to U(IV). This work provides an unconventional design strategy to design efficient photocatalysts for uranium recovery from nuclear wastewater. Full article
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19 pages, 5775 KB  
Article
Defect-Engineered MOF-808-SO4 as Efficient Solid Acid Catalysts for Esterification of n-Butyl Acetate
by Wei Cao, Lifang Chen, Tingting Wang, Ke Wang, Zhen Song and Zhiwen Qi
Molecules 2026, 31(11), 1908; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31111908 - 2 Jun 2026
Viewed by 585
Abstract
In order to address corrosion and pollution problems of liquid acids and limitations of traditional solid acids, sulfated MOF-808-SO4 catalysts were developed by creating unsaturated sites in MOF-808 for sulfate grafting with ligand defect engineering. Characterization verified framework integrity, successful sulfate coordination, [...] Read more.
In order to address corrosion and pollution problems of liquid acids and limitations of traditional solid acids, sulfated MOF-808-SO4 catalysts were developed by creating unsaturated sites in MOF-808 for sulfate grafting with ligand defect engineering. Characterization verified framework integrity, successful sulfate coordination, and maintenance of high surface areas and tunable porosity. Temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD) establishes a clear consistent trend between defect density and the concentration as well as the strength of acid sites, indicating that a higher degree of ligand deficiency promotes the formation of more abundant and stronger acid centers. For esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol, the catalyst prepared by replacing 40 mol% of BTC with BDC achieved ≥99% conversion of acetic acid under mild conditions of 2.0 wt% catalyst loading and 1:2 alcohol/acid molar ratio at 120 °C for 6 h, outperforming conventional solid acids. This performance stems from high-density strong Brønsted acid sites strongly coordinated at defects and an open pore structure facilitating diffusion. The catalyst was easily recovered by ethanol washing and maintained stable activity over five cycles without loss of catalytic capability. This work suggests defect engineering as an effective strategy for tuning acidity and catalytic performance in MOF-based solid acids for green esterification. Full article
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