Recent advances in amino acid involved metal-organic frameworks from preparation to applications

Recent rapid advancements in the design and synthesis of MOFs have led to the emergence of biological MOFs, with a broad range of applications. Amino acids (AAs) are typical biological ligands that display specific affinity for metal ion centers to form AA-involved MOFs (AA-MOFs) through various approaches, including direct synthesis, post-modification methods, and newly emerging strategies. AA-MOFs provide MOFs with diverse structural topologies and tailor-made functional groups. These structural features help to improve selectivity, catalytic activity, chiral properties, and adsorption capacity and stability, making many AA-MOFs robust for target applications. Therefore, these intriguing functions allow AA-MOFs to address vital challenges in catalysis, healthcare, separation, sensing, energy, environmental applications, and biomedical delivery. AA-MOFs have shown significant potential in mimicking biocatalysis and in carbon dioxide storage and transformation. Furthermore, AA-MOFs are versatile, allowing surface modifications and the integration of other materials to improve the multi-functionality, including catalytic performance. This study reviews the progress in AA-MOF with respect to their designs, synthesis methods, structural features, and state-of-the-art applications. Particularly, we highlighted the successful implementation of AA-MOFs in catalysis, separation, sensing, and other fields. Additionally, the main challenges and promising prospects of AA-MOFs from synthesis methods to applications are also considered. This work contributes to the growing understanding and construction of AA-MOFs and their future industrial applications.