Determining the water adsorption in zirconium MOFs related to the well-known UiO-66 and UiO-67

Water adsorption in porous materials is relevant for many applications such as dehumidification, thermal batteries, and delivery of drinking water in remote areas. Among them recently the development of atmospheric water harvesting devices have stood out, which aim to mitigate water scarcity in arid climates.In the quest towards an ideal performing porous material, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) emerge as appropriate candidates. Specifically, zirconium based MOFs are among the best performing ones since they usually show permanent porosity, they are water stable and do not lose capacity after some adsorption/desorption cycles at room temperature.The analysis of the water arrangement and interaction within the porous material by means of location of physisorbed molecules is desirable for designing materials with better performance in atmospheric water harvesting applications.