The synthesis of metal–organic frameworks with template strategies

The synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with a template strategy is still fascinating and has received considerable attention from structural chemists. In this review, developments in tuning MOF hosts or pore structures with a template strategy in the past decades are summarized. By adding templates into MOF precursors, novel template@MOF materials can always be obtained, which cannot be accessed by traditional synthesis procedures. Template@MOF materials can be structurally characterized to help understand the interactions between host frameworks and guest templates. On the other hand, changing the species or amount of template may lead to a pore structure change that can be used as a molecular container to load functional guest molecules with matching sizes for specific applications. It is hoped that this review will provide future researchers with new insight into the design and synthesis of MOF materials by applying suitable templates.