Machine learning ecosystem evolves MOF design

Scientists in Switzerland and the US have developed an ecosystem of tools to boost machine learning (ML)-based design of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Kevin Jablonka from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and colleagues made Mofdscribe available to users in December 2022, some of whom have already published studies exploiting it. ‘This tool helps us to move forwards much faster,’ says Jablonka.

Today, chemists can make millions of distinct MOFs by connecting up metal nodes and organic linkers like molecular construction kits. Scientists have made over 100,000 MOFs with a potentially unlimited number possible, with uses including catalysing chemical reactions and storing gases including carbon dioxide.