ABSTRACT
Conceptually, there are no important differences between classical inorganic porous solids as zeolites and hybrid porous solids as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) [1]. Based only on their porosity, both groups are porous solids with modular structure offering important structural diversity and, even more importantly, the possibility to synthesize them on-demand, with tailored properties for targeted applications. The difference between them lies in the units composing the structure, only inorganic for the case of zeolites, and of hybrid inorganic-organic nature for MOFs. Although MOFs are often considered hybrid materials mimicking zeolites, in the last decade they started to surpass the versatility of purely inorganic zeolites, also benefiting from permanent porosity. MOFs outstand by their large surface area and by the wide assortment of pore sizes and pore specific volumes that can be synthesized, both converting these materials in promising alternative to the zeolites even in their traditional fields of application such as gas separation and purification.
