Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for chemical warfare agent (CWA) filtration due to their gas capture and sequestration properties. UiO-67, a Zr-based MOF, effectively adsorbs and decomposes the nerve-agent simulant, dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). This study uses in situ X-ray total scattering measurements to quantitatively track the structural changes in both the MOF framework and DMMP during exposure. Atomic resolution reveals DMMP sorption and desorption within pores, association with linker-deficient Zr6 cores, and decomposition to irreversibly bound methyl methylphosphonate.

Maxwell W. Terban, Sanjit K. Ghose, Anna M. Plonka, Diego Troya, Pavol Juhás, Robert E. Dinnebier, John J. Mahle, Wesley O. Gordon, Anatoly I. Frenkel