---
title: Putting MOFs in Numbers - an Infografic | novoMOF
description: Have a look at our metal-organic frameworks infografic from a numbers perspective. From first discovery, early research to properties and applications.
image: https://blog.novomof.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Header_Putting_MOFs_in_Numbers.jpg
---
[info@novoMOF.com](mailto:info@novoMOF.com)
-
-
-
-
[](https://novomof.com/)
-
- [CO₂ CAPTURE](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [CO₂ CAPTURE](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [For Technology Providers](https://novomof.com/technology/for-technology-providers/)
- [For Industrial Emitters](https://novomof.com/technology/for-industrial-emitters/)
- [MOF Technology](https://novomof.com/technology/)
- [MOF Technology](https://novomof.com/technology/)
- [CO₂ capture](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [Biogas upgrading](https://novomof.com/technology/biogas-upgrading/)
- [Gas purification](https://novomof.com/technology/gas-purification/)
- [Water harvesting](https://novomof.com/technology/water-harvesting/)
- [Other applications](https://novomof.com/technology/other-applications/)
- [About us](https://novomof.com/about-us/)
- [History](https://novomof.com/about-us/#history)
- [Mission & Vision](https://novomof.com/about-us/)
- [Team](https://novomof.com/about-us/#team)
- [Partners](https://novomof.com/about-us/#partners)
- [Testimonials](https://novomof.com/about-us/#testimonials)
- [Newsletter](https://info.novomof.com/newsletter)
- [Blog](https://blog.novomof.com/)
- [Careers](https://careers.novomof.com/)
- [CO₂ CAPTURE](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [CO₂ CAPTURE](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [For Technology Providers](https://novomof.com/technology/for-technology-providers/)
- [For Industrial Emitters](https://novomof.com/technology/for-industrial-emitters/)
- [MOF Technology](https://novomof.com/technology/)
- [MOF Technology](https://novomof.com/technology/)
- [CO₂ capture](https://novomof.com/technology/co2-capture/)
- [Biogas upgrading](https://novomof.com/technology/biogas-upgrading/)
- [Gas purification](https://novomof.com/technology/gas-purification/)
- [Water harvesting](https://novomof.com/technology/water-harvesting/)
- [Other applications](https://novomof.com/technology/other-applications/)
- [About us](https://novomof.com/about-us/)
- [History](https://novomof.com/about-us/#history)
- [Mission & Vision](https://novomof.com/about-us/)
- [Team](https://novomof.com/about-us/#team)
- [Partners](https://novomof.com/about-us/#partners)
- [Testimonials](https://novomof.com/about-us/#testimonials)
- [Newsletter](https://info.novomof.com/newsletter)
- [Blog](https://blog.novomof.com/)
- [Careers](https://careers.novomof.com/)
# Putting MOFs in Numbers - an Infografic
By [Niklas](https://blog.novomof.com/author/niklas) 25. November 2019 [General](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/general)
- [No Comments](https://blog.novomof.com/blog/putting-mofs-in-numbers-an-infografic#comments-listing)
We took a different perspective on metal-organic frameworks and put together an infografic about these materials. Enjoy!
Updated Version now online – 16.12.2019
Click on the infografic for a high-res version.
[](https://blog.novomof.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Putting_MOFs_in_Numbers_Infografic_updated_web.png)
How did you like this infografic? Let us know below in the comments!
[](https://info.novomof.com/cs/c/?cta_guid=8e17ab32-e4ea-4a81-b493-e11d3ef96816&signature=AAH58kHMViZNQ9I0X1MVw99QVAM3ttbJaQ&placement_guid=d821bfb2-80a4-4df7-b8c6-af53ba016265&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fnovomof.com%2Fblog%2Fputting-mofs-in-numbers-an-infografic%2F&portal_id=5529658&contentType=blog-post&__hstc=30035104.384c7082399724a141c902fe43b53459.1605263846213.1605263846213.1605263846213.1&__hssc=30035104.1.1605263846213&__hsfp=2406870324&hsutk=384c7082399724a141c902fe43b53459)
## The research
First of three publications by A.F. Wells about molecular and polymeric frameworks, describing existing and theoretical structures in terms of networks:
Wells, A. F.(1977). Three-dimensional nets and polyhedra. (1978). Acta Cryst. B34, 2958 [doi.org:10.1107/S0567740878009814](https://doi.org/10.1107/S0567740878009814)
First description of porous coordination polymers by Richard Robson:
Hoskins, B. F., & Robson, R. (1989). Infinite polymeric frameworks consisting of three dimensionally linked rod-like segments. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 111(15), 5962–5964. [doi:10.1021/ja00197a079](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja00197a079)
First publication by Omar Yaghi featuring ‘metal-organic frameworks’ in the title and thus coining the term:
OM Yaghi, H Li (1995). Hydrothermal synthesis of a metal-organic framework containing large rectangular channels. Journal of the American Chemical Society 117 (41), 10401-10402. doi:[10.1021/ja00146a033](https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00146a033)
Publication by Omar Yaghi demonstrating permanent porosity of MOFs and start of wide research into this class of materials:
Li, H., Eddaoudi, M., O’Keeffe, M. et al. (1999). Design and synthesis of an exceptionally stable and highly porous metal-organic framework. Nature 402, 276–279. doi:[10.1038/46248](https://www.nature.com/articles/46248)
The research on metal-organic frameworks has steadily increased in the period between 1995 and 2019. There are more than [456’000 search results related to the search term “metal-organic framework”](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=de&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=%22metal-organic+framework%22&oq=%22metal-organic) on Google Scholar.
### Top10 authors
The top 10 authors in the field of metal-organic frameworks are:
1. Omar M. Yaghi
2. Omar K. Farha
3. Joseph T. Hupp
4. Hong-Cai Zhou
5. Michael O’Keeffe
6. Banglin Chen
7. Jeffrey R. Long
8. Wenbin Lin
9. Mohamed Eddaoudi
10. Christian Serre
The data on publications on [“metal-organic frameworks” and the top10-authors can be found at microsoft.academics.com](https://academic.microsoft.com/topic/179366358).
### Most cited publication
The publication by Kitagawa, Kitaura and Noro on ‘[Functional porous coordination polymers](https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200300610)‘ has been cited 9’523 times (according to [academics.microsoft.com](https://academic.microsoft.com/paper/1999937609/citedby/search?q=Functional%20porous%20coordination%20polymers&qe=RId%253D1999937609&f=&orderBy=0)), making it the most cited publication on metal-orrganic frameworks.
Omar Yaghi, the pioneer of MOFs, is not far off with 7’658 citations of his publication [‘Reticular synthesis and the design of new materials’ (2003).](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01650)
Metal-organic frameworks are research on 7 continents, in more than 250 research institutes by more than 1000 researchers. These porous materials even haave two dedicated conferences per year: [EuroMOF20XX](https://euromof2019.sciencesconf.org/) and [MOF20XX.](https://dechema.de/en/MOF2020.html)
## The Material
Metal-organic frameworks are made by combining metal ions with organic linkers (ligands). There are 86+ usable metals and more than a 1000 possible ligands. More than 5 different methods of synthesis are available.
More than 81’000 MOF-structures are documented in the [Cambridge Structural Database](https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/). That’s 330x the number of documented zeolite structures.
### Crystallinity
Not all MOFs are created equally – [amorphous MOFs](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ar5000314) miss the periodic order.
### Multi-dimensional pores
MOFs feature 1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional pores, that can be used for a variety of applications.
### Maximum number of metals
Up to 10 different metal ions have been synthesised into one MOF-74 structure (Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn and Cd).
### Material properties
The [largest documented surface area in 1 gram of MOF](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201808240) was reported for DUT-60 with 7’839 m2. The absolute stability limits were calculated to be at 10’577 m2/g.
The largest pore size is documented for IRMOF-74 reaching 98 Angstrom.
Particles are up to 10’000nm large (NU-1003), the smallest are reported for HKUST-1 at 1.6 nm. ZIF-51 has the smallest average particle size at 41.6 nm.
MOFs have very specific properties:
- Adsorption
- Desorption
- Encapsulation
- Filtration
- Catalysis
- Luminescence
- Bio-mimetics
- Isolation
- Electroconducting
### Industry applications
These can be used in various industrial applications such as
- Gas Adsorption
- Gas Purification
- Gas Storage
- Hydrogen Catalysis
- Biomedical Imaging and Sensing
- Semiconductors
- Drug Delivery Systems
- Carbon Capture
- Dehumidification
- Detection and Sensing
- Nerve Gas Degradation
- Water Treatment
- Air Filtration
- Shelf life management
- Fart-proof Underwear
- Bio-mimetic Mineralisation
- Toxic Gas Capture
- Desalinatiion
- Amelioration of Goods
- Contaminent Removal
+ many more opportunities.
[](https://info.novomof.com/cs/c/?cta_guid=8e17ab32-e4ea-4a81-b493-e11d3ef96816&signature=AAH58kHMViZNQ9I0X1MVw99QVAM3ttbJaQ&placement_guid=d821bfb2-80a4-4df7-b8c6-af53ba016265&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fnovomof.com%2Fblog%2Fputting-mofs-in-numbers-an-infografic%2F&portal_id=5529658&contentType=blog-post&__hstc=30035104.384c7082399724a141c902fe43b53459.1605263846213.1605263846213.1605263846213.1&__hssc=30035104.1.1605263846213&__hsfp=2406870324&hsutk=384c7082399724a141c902fe43b53459)
Search...
### Recent Posts
### Posts by Tag
- [Adsorption (45)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/adsorption)
- [General (44)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/general)
- [Gas Capture and Sequestration (33)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/gas-capture-and-sequestration)
- [Carbon Capture (31)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/carbon-capture)
- [Carbon Dioxide (30)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/carbon-dioxide)
- [MOFs (12)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/mofs)
- [Catalysis (9)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/catalysis)
- [Company News (9)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/company-news)
- [Electronics (4)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/electronics)
- [Filtration (4)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/filtration)
- [Pharmaceuticals (4)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/pharmaceuticals)
- [Activated Carbon (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/activated-carbon)
- [Biomedical application (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/biomedical-application)
- [Cleanrooms (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/cleanrooms)
- [Cleantech (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/cleantech)
- [Energy Storage (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/energy-storage)
- [Gas Separation (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/gas-separation)
- [Sensing Application (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/sensing-application)
- [Zeolite (3)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/zeolite)
- [CO2 reduction (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/co2-reduction)
- [Dehumidification (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/dehumidification)
- [Drug Delivery (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/drug-delivery)
- [Gas Storage (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/gas-storage)
- [Methane (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/methane)
- [Silica (2)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/silica)
- [Adsorption / Desorption (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/adsorption-desorption)
- [Aqueous amine scrubbers (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/aqueous-amine-scrubbers)
- [Biogas (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/biogas)
- [CO2 capture (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/co2-capture)
- [Calcium looping (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/calcium-looping)
- [Chemical Synthesis (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/chemical-synthesis)
- [Climate Change (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/climate-change)
- [Condensation (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/condensation)
- [Conferences (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/conferences)
- [DAC (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/dac)
- [Desorption (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/desorption)
- [Drug Carrier (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/drug-carrier)
- [Energy (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/energy)
- [Energy efficiency (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/energy-efficiency)
- [Flue gas (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/flue-gas)
- [Food applications (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/food-applications)
- [Gas purification (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/gas-purification)
- [Greenhouse (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/greenhouse)
- [Nitrogen (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/nitrogen)
- [Noncryogenic Air Separation (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/noncryogenic-air-separation)
- [Oxygen Production (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/oxygen-production)
- [Oxygen Purification (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/oxygen-purification)
- [Particle Size (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/particle-size)
- [Petrochemicals (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/petrochemicals)
- [Pollutants (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/pollutants)
- [Post-combustion capture (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/post-combustion-capture)
- [Power (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/power)
- [Renewable Feedstocks (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/renewable-feedstocks)
- [Semiconductors (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/semiconductors)
- [Sensing (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/sensing)
- [Water Purification (1)](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/water-purification)
See all
-
### Previous Post Putting MOFs in Numbers - an Infografic
-
### Next Post How we measure and ensure the high quality of our MOFs
### Related Posts
[](https://blog.novomof.com/nobel-prize-article) [General](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/general)
### After the Nobel: MOFs Enter the Age of Deployment
[Daniel Steitz](https://blog.novomof.com/author/daniel-steitz) 5. November 2025
[.jpg)](https://blog.novomof.com/press-release) [General](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/general)
### Press Release
[Daniel Steitz](https://blog.novomof.com/author/daniel-steitz) 20. October 2025
[](https://blog.novomof.com/capturing-biogenic-co2) [Adsorption](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/adsorption) [Carbon Capture](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/carbon-capture) [Carbon Dioxide](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/carbon-dioxide) [Gas Capture and Sequestration](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/gas-capture-and-sequestration) [General](https://blog.novomof.com/tag/general)
### Capturing biogenic CO₂
[Cristina](https://blog.novomof.com/author/cristina) 8. September 2025
### *Author* Niklas
[More posts by Niklas](https://blog.novomof.com/author/niklas)
© novoMOF AG 2025
- [Privacy Policy](https://novomof.com/privacy-policy/)