ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the representative publications on the studies of the activation procedure of mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The MOF activation procedure is important in achieving the desired adsorption characteristics, especially for adsorption in the nonaqueous solvents, where the 'coordinatively unsaturated site' (CUS) is expected to remain intact and to interact directly with the adsorbate molecules. In a limited number of academic papers, the importance of learning about the molecular-level details of chemical and structural changes at the CUS and/or linker site upon or during the activation procedure has been acknowledged. In situ characterization of the MOF under the activation procedure has been conducted by thermodiffractometric analysis, aka thermo-x-ray diffraction (XRD), using the XRD instrument equipped with thermal attachment and optional vacuum specimen chamber. The loss of mass in the MOF during the activation procedure is conveniently studied using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
