Balancing Activity and Stability in MOF Catalysis

Led by the group of Jia Min Chin at the University of Vienna, an international team has published a new Comment in Nature Sustainability on a central challenge in metal–organic framework (MOF) catalysis: how to balance high catalytic activity with long-term stability and scalable use.

MOFs offer unusually precise control over catalyst structure, but the same reactive sites that make them attractive can also make them vulnerable to degradation under realistic operating conditions such as heat, redox stress, illumination, or electrochemical bias.

The authors argue that future MOF catalysts must be evaluated beyond idealized laboratory tests, using operando characterization, multi-stressor stability assessment, and sustainability metrics that include catalyst lifetime, regeneration demands, and scale-up constraints.

The article was authored by researchers from the University of Vienna, the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, and Leiden University, reflecting a collaborative effort across expertise in heterogeneous catalysis, framework materials, and sustainable catalyst design.

It outlines how a more rigorous understanding of MOF stability could help move MOF catalysis from promising laboratory demonstrations toward durable, resource-efficient technologies for sustainable chemistry.