High-Connectivity Functional Framework Materials by Professor Zhijie Chen
NTU MSE Seminar Hosted by: Assistant Professor Jie Shen
Abstract
In this presentation, the research progress on the design, synthesis, and properties of high-connectivity framework materials will be reported as follows: 1) Net-coded organic building block and heterogeneous supermolecular building block approaches have been developed to achieve the customized synthesis of high-connectivity metal-organic frameworks; 2) The confined pores of the framework have been controlled by the number of node connections and ligand conformations to overcome the difficulty of reconciling high porosity and stability; 3) High-density pillar aromatic hydrocarbons or low-valence metal sites have been synergistically integrated to achieve the recognition of long alkyl chain molecules, nitrogen, hydrogen, and other molecules.
References
[1] Shi, L.; Zhong, Y.; Cao, H.; Wang, H.; Xiong, Z.; Wang, K.; Shen, H.; Chen, Z.*, A hetero-supermolecular-building-block strategy for the assembly of porous (3,12,24)-connected uru metal–organic frameworks. Nat. Synth. 2024, 3 (12), 1560-1566.[2] Yang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Jiang, Y.; Zhong, Y.; Yang, Z.; Chen, Z.*, Net-Coded Organic Building Blocks for the Reticular Assembly of High-Connectivity Metal–Organic Frameworks. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147 (24), 20218-20224.
[3] Shi, L.; Xiong, Z.; Wang, H.; Cao, H.; Chen, Z.*, Quasicrystal approximants in isoreticular metal-organic frameworks via Cairo pentagonal tiling. Chem 2024, 10 (8), 2464-2472.
[4] Cao, H.; Shi, L.; Xiong, Z.; Zhu, H.; Wang, H.; Wang, K.; Yang, Z.; Zhang, H.-F.; Liu, L.; O'Keeffe, M.; Li, M.; Chen, Z.*, Two-Periodic MoS2-Type Metal–Organic Frameworks with Intrinsic Intralayer Porosity for High-Capacity Water Sorption. Adv. Mater. 2025, 37 (4), 2414362.
[5] Zhong, Y.; Fang, P.; Zhai, M.; Low, Z.; Chen, Z.*, Complexity in Order: High-Porosity Multicomponent Metal–Organic Frameworks for Clean Energy Gas Storage. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025. 147 (49), 45377-45385.
[6] Wu, Y.; Shi, L.; Xu, L.; Ying, J.; Miao, X.; Hua, B.*; Chen, Z.*; Sessler, J. L.*; Huang, F.*, Supramolecular docking structure determination of alkyl-bearing molecules. Nature 2025, 640 (8059), 676-682.
[7] Ma, S.; Lam, Y.; Shi, L.; Yang, J.; Wang, K.; Yu, B.; Kan, C.*; Fei, B.; Xin, J. H.; Ma, K.*; Stoddart, J. F.; Chen, Z.*, Tetrathienylethene-based porous framework composites for boosting photocatalytic antibacterial activity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2025, 122 (15), e2423052122.
[8] Xiong, Z.; Wu, S.; Gu, L.; Zhai, M.; Pan, Y.; Ma, Y.*; Chen, Z.*, The Assembly of a High-Efficiency Tris-benzotriazolate-Based Metal–Organic Framework Solid-State Electrolyte. ACS Cent. Sci. 2025, 11 (7), 1199-1206.
[9] Gu, L.; Xiong, Z.; Zhong, Y.; Chen, Z.*, Reticular Synthesis of High-Connectivity Metal-Organic Frameworks with Kuratowski-Type Building Blocks. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026, 148 (1), 99-105.
Biography
Professor Zhijie Chen
Zhejiang University
Zhijie Chen received his B.S. (2012) degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Ph.D. (2018) from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University (2018-2021). He joined the Department of Chemistry at Zhejiang University as a ZJU100 Young Professor in 2022. His research interest is related to the synthesis and applications of functional porous frameworks. He has authored more than 100 papers including Science, Nature, Nat. Synth., Nat. Chem., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Chem, PNAS, CCS Chem., Adv. Mater., Chem. Rev, Chem. Soc. Rev. His accomplishments have been recognized by honours including MIT TR35 Asia Pacific, Materials Research Society Postdoctoral Award.