Enhancement of catalytic hydrolysis activity for organophosphates by the metal-organic framework MOF-808-NH₂via post-synthetic modification

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) necessitate buffers or basic amine moieties for high activity and turnover in the hydrolysis of organophosphates. While polymeric amine buffers can be integrated with a MOF, all solid-state formulations suffer from active site poisoning of the secondary building units (SBUs) within MOFs which inhibits further catalytic turnover. Herein, we developed a simple soaking procedure with a basic aqueous solution that reactivates the active sites of spent MOFs after organophosphate catalysis. Moreover, we develop amine functionalized MOF-808 derivatives through de novo synthesis with H-3-BTC-NH2 (BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) and post-synthetic modification (PSM) that are highly active for organophosphate hydrolysis under non-buffered aqueous conditions.