About Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs):
- MOFs are a class of porous, crystalline materials with a broad range of applications.
- They are composed of metal ions or clusters, which act as the joints, bound by multidirectional organic ligands, which act as linkers in the network structure.
- These crystalline materials possess the remarkable ability to absorb gases, such as carbon dioxide, and store them as well as act as filters for crude oil purification.
- MOFs derive their ability from the presence of nanopores, enhancing their surface areas that, in turn, make them adept at absorbing and storing gases.
- Flexibility in crystals has been assessed in terms of a parameter called elastic modulus, which is a measure of a material’s resistance to strain-induced deformation.
- New quantitative measure of mechanical flexibility
- A new study proposes a unique theoretical measure based on the fractional release of elastic stress or strain energy through internal structural rearrangements under symmetry constraints.
- This new metric can be readily calculated using standard techniques of simulation and can rate the flexibility of a crystal on a scale of zero to one, zero signifying the least flexibility while one indicates maximum flexibility.
- They have limited stability and mechanical weakness, hindering their broader applications.
