backtotop

Structure-driven

Human-centric

Innovation:

Nanopore

Engineering

“Humans have used naturally porous materials for thousands of years, from marine sponges to zeolitic minerals. Yet, it is only in the recent 20 years that researchers have gained the ability to delicately regulate and functionalize pores at the nanoscale. Pores have sizes, shapes, hierarchy, heterogeneity, and synergy. Nanopore engineering encompasses a broad range of materials. From hollow molecular cages to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), these structures are the key to creating ordered architectures capable of channeling matter and energy, which is critical for catalysis, energy storage, separation, and recognition. In essence, nanopore engineering leverages the dynamic nature of chemical bonds to craft and functionalize hierarchical structures, from the microscale to the mesoscale and beyond. It is a journey towards a world that uses its natural resources more efficiently.”

Molecular Truss Lattices

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 38711-38719.

We select a supramolecular material named metal–organic framework (MOF) as the prototype, where molecules are employed as nodes and beams to construct nanosized truss lattices.

A Modular Platform for Sensing

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 3866-3873.

We develop a modular MOF-based luminescent sensing platform by using a mixed-ligand strategy.

MOFs for Selective PFOA Uptake

Adv. Mater. 2024, 2407194.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a highly recalcitrant organic pollutant, and its bioaccumulation severely endangers human health. While various methods are developed for PFOA removal, the targeted design of adsorbents with high efficiency and reusability remains largely unexplored.

MOFs for PFAS Sensing in Water

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e15775.

Rapid and quantitative detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remains a critical challenge in environmental monitoring due to their low light absorption capacities.

Bioinspired Framework Catalysts

Chem. Rev. 2023, 123, 5347-5420.

Enzymatic catalysis has fueled considerable interest from chemists due to its high efficiency and selectivity. However, the structural complexity and vulnerability hamper the application potentials of

Laser Photolysis on Microporous MOFs

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 11349-11354.

Hierarchically porous metal–organic frameworks (HP-MOFs) facilitate mass transfer due to mesoporosity while preserving the advantage of microporosity. This unique feature endows HP-MOFs with remarkabl

Multi-center Luminescence Sensor

Nat. Protoc. 2023, 18, 1621-1640.

Luminescent sensing materials are attractive for environmental analysis due to their potential for high selectivity, excellent sensitivity and rapid (even instantaneous) response towards targeted anal

Amino-acid-derived Frameworks for Chiral Separation

ACS Cent. Sci. 2022, 8, 562-570.

Efficient enantioselective separation using porous materials requires tailored and diverse pore environments to interact with chiral substrates; yet, current cage materials usually feature uniform por

Creating Hierarchical Pores via Post-Synthetic Reactions

Nat. Protoc. 2023, 18, 604-625.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) demonstrate promise for a multitude of applications owing to their high porosity and surface area. However, the majority of conventional MOFs possess only micropores wi

Topology Exploration in Rare-Earth MOFs

JACS Au 2023, 3, 1337-1347.

A linker design strategy is developed to attain novel polynuclear rare-earth (RE) metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with unprecedented topologies. We uncover the critical role of ortho-functionalized tr

Morphology Transcription in MOFs

ACS Materials Lett. 2021, 3, 738-743.

Controlled morphology replication is a powerful method to fabricate materials with designable morphology and functions. However, this process is usually restricted to simple systems containing limited

Multi-component and Hierarchical MOFs

Chem. Soc. Rev. 2019, 48, 4823-4853.

Multi-component hierarchically porous materials are an emerging class of materials with tailored compositions, tunable distribution and sophisticated applications. An increasing demand for multifuncti