Surfactants as promising media in the field of metal-organic frameworks

Extensive attention has been paid to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) due to their interesting structures and plenty of potential applications in catalysis, chemical sensors, magnetism, drug delivery, gas separation and storage. A variety of synthetic methodologies for the synthesis of multifunctional MOFs with complicated structures and attracting properties (such as solvothermal, hydrothermal, urothermal and ionothermal methods), have been developed. Recently, the surfactant-assisted strategy for the synthesis, adjustment and control of multifunctional MOFs has attracted extensive research interest, because surfactants forcefully determine the dimensions, phases, and morphologies of MOFs materials via acting as emulsifiers, detergents, foaming agents, wetting agents or dispersants. This review offers recent developments and prospects in the surfactants as promising templates in the field of growing MOFs, namely, surfactant-assisted strategy for the synthesis of crystalline MOFs, the separation of the pure single-phase of MOFs, the control of the pore's sizes and morphologies of MOFs (such as core/shell, nanodisks, nanoplates, nanorods, nanosheets) as well as their mechanism.