Shaping of metal–organic frameworks at the interface

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted great attention and become one of the most intensively studied topics due to their high surface area, large porosity, tunable pore structure and functionality. However, MOFs are typically obtained as powders, which is not suitable for many industrial applications. Therefore, processing MOF powders into specific ordered structures is of great importance to promote the successful implementation of these materials in industry. Recently, interfacial technique has proven to be an effective approach to shape MOFs into 0-dimensional, 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, and 3-dimensional superstructures. In this review, state-of-the-art developments of gas–solid, gas–liquid, liquid–solid, and liquid–liquid interfaces used to fabricate MOF superstructures are comprehensively summarized, and current challenges and future research directions are briefly discussed.