Defect engineering in metal–organic frameworks: a new strategy to develop applicable actinide sorbents

The preliminary results described here show that the adsorbability of uranyl ions by a highly stable MOF UiO-66 can be drastically enhanced by tailoring the missing-linker defects in this MOF. The combination of defect-induced functionality improvement with the acid-resistant nature of UiO-66 substantiates the applicability of this material for actinide capture from acidic media.