Exploring the Interphase Structure of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Covalent Organic Frameworks Glass Composites

Covalent and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs and COFs) are porous crystalline hybrid materials formed from molecular building blocks. While they excel as adsorbents for pollutants, their industrial application faces challenges due to their microcrystalline powder form, which has led to growing interest in MOF and COF composites. One promising material for combination is glass, a hybrid type containing both inorganic and organic components linked by coordination bonds, offering advantages over their crystalline counterparts. Despite being well-studied and relatively inexpensive, glass remains almost unexplored as a host for crystalline MOFs and COFs. This proposal aims to study the local (<10 Å) and intermediate (10-20 Å) structures of MOFs and COFs embedded in the glass matrix, before and after adsorption of pollutant gases and vapours, using Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis.