Cade Moore Polytechnic Institute (CM-Tech)
A 4-year Chemistry Program Prioritizing Free & Open Educational Resources
With a Specialized Track in Reticular Chemistry (MOFs & COFs)
— With Access Strategy for Discounted Copyrighted Materials —
A 4-year degree in Chemistry typically requires coursework across five core sub-disciplines, plus supporting courses in mathematics and physics. The American Chemical Society (ACS) sets guidelines for approved degree programs, requiring coverage of general chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic chemistry, along with biochemistry and research experience.
For CM-Tech’s purposes, we have designed a curriculum that covers all of these areas using only freely available, openly licensed textbooks — with one important exception: reticular chemistry, a field pioneered by figures including the 2025 Nobel Laureate Omar M. Yaghi. This specialized area represents the cutting edge of materials science and a massive future workforce opportunity, making it worth the effort to secure access.
• General Chemistry: Atomic structure, bonding, reactions, thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium. The foundation everything else builds on.
• Organic Chemistry: Carbon-based compounds. Structure, reactions, mechanisms, and synthesis. Critical for understanding biological molecules, pharmaceuticals, and polymers.
• Analytical Chemistry: How to measure and identify what’s in a sample. Spectroscopy, chromatography, electrochemistry, and statistics.
• Physical Chemistry: Where chemistry meets physics. Thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and kinetics at the mathematical level. Requires calculus.
• Inorganic Chemistry: Everything that isn’t carbon-based. Metal complexes, coordination chemistry, solid-state materials, and catalysis. This is where reticular chemistry lives.
Biochemistry is also required by most programs and bridges chemistry with biology. Supporting coursework in calculus (through multivariable/differential equations) and calculus-based physics is essential.
The table below maps every course in our proposed chemistry degree to a free, openly licensed textbook. Green license text means freely available; red means permissions are needed.
Introduction to Reticular Chemistry (Yaghi, Kalmutzki & Diercks) (Note: This is a copyrighted text; link goes to publisher page)
Reticular chemistry is the science of linking molecular building blocks with strong bonds to create crystalline, extended framework structures. The two most important classes of materials are Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), which combine metal ions or clusters with organic linker molecules, and Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs), which are entirely organic and connected by covalent bonds.
These materials have enormous internal surface areas — a single gram of some MOFs has the internal surface area of a football field — and can be designed to capture, store, or catalyze specific chemical reactions. Real-world applications already in development or deployment include harvesting drinking water from desert air, capturing carbon dioxide from industrial emissions, storing hydrogen fuel safely, filtering PFAS (forever chemicals) from water, and delivering drugs precisely to target tissues.
In October 2025, Omar M. Yaghi (UC Berkeley), Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), and Richard Robson (University of Melbourne) shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of metal-organic frameworks. The Nobel Committee cited applications ranging from water harvesting to carbon capture to toxic gas storage.
What makes this especially relevant for the Foundation: Yaghi’s personal story is a mirror of many of our learners’ experiences. Born to a Palestinian refugee family in Amman, Jordan, he came to the United States at age 15, attended Hudson Valley Community College, transferred to SUNY Albany for his BS in chemistry, and built his career entirely through public education. He has specifically credited the public school system for making his Nobel Prize possible.
As MOFs and COFs move from laboratory research to industrial-scale deployment, there will be massive demand for workers who understand these materials — not just PhD researchers, but technicians, plant operators, quality control specialists, and manufacturing workers. Companies developing MOF-based products (for water harvesting, gas separation, carbon capture) will need trained personnel at every level. The Foundation’s learners could be among the first trained workforce in this emerging field.
CM-Tech (Cade Moore Polytechnic Institute) is designed around a polytechnic philosophy: do only a handful of things but do them exceptionally well. Rather than attempting breadth across all STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences, etc. CM-Tech focuses with laser precision on select niches within the emerging field of reticular chemistry and its industrial applications. The proposed credit-transfer agreement with multiple community colleges and universities enables this focus by encouraging other more generalized institutions to handle general education requirements. This freedom from general education requirements frees CM-Tech faculty and staff to devote its curriculum almost entirely to specialized technical education.
A primary area of focus is reticular chemistry, the science of linking molecular building blocks into extended, ordered structures with precisely designed pores and cavities. This field was validated at the highest level when Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The Nobel Committee highlighted that MOFs offer previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions, including carbon capture, water harvesting from desert air, removal of forever chemicals from water, and hydrogen storage.
CM-Tech’s curriculum centers on three families of reticular materials: metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and the emerging hybrid class of metal-organic covalent organic frameworks (MOCOFs). COFs, which are constructed entirely from light elements bonded through strong covalent bonds, are both lighter and more chemically stable than many MOFs, making them particularly promising for applications where weight matters, such as aviation and portable fuel cells. MOCOFs combine features of both, offering a middle ground of tunability and stability. Together, these three material families provide students with a comprehensive toolkit to address real-world challenges.
Metal-organic frameworks are crystalline, porous materials in which metal ions or metal-cluster nodes are connected by organic linker molecules in a repeating three-dimensional network. The resulting structures contain enormous internal surface area. A single gram of certain MOFs can have an internal surface area equivalent to the size of an American football field. By varying the metal and linker components, chemists can tune the pore size, chemical functionality, and mechanical behavior of the resulting material. As of 2025, researchers have synthesized tens of thousands of distinct MOFs, and computational databases catalog hundreds of thousands of hypothetical structures.
Covalent organic frameworks are built entirely from light elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, boron) linked by strong covalent bonds rather than the coordination bonds used in MOFs. This makes COFs generally lighter, more chemically stable, and resistant to degradation under harsh conditions. For applications where weight is critical, such as aerospace or portable fuel cells, COFs offer significant advantages.
Metal Organic Covalent Organic Frameworks represent a newer hybrid class combining metal coordination chemistry with covalent bonding strategies. MOCOFs aim to capture the tunability and catalytic activity of MOFs while leveraging the stability of COFs, potentially opening doors to applications that neither material family can serve alone.
After synthesis in the laboratory, reticular frameworks typically appear as fine crystalline powders. While scientifically interesting in that form, the powders are not directly useful for most practical applications. Engineers must figure out how to package, deploy, and protect these materials in real-world settings. There are several critical processing steps and methods:
During synthesis, the pores of newly formed frameworks are filled with solvent molecules. These solvents must be carefully removed, a process called activation, to make the pores accessible for their intended function. The challenge is that removing liquid from inside a delicate crystalline scaffold can collapse the structure. The main activation strategies include:
• Conventional Drying and Solvent Exchange: The simplest approach involves heating under vacuum. However, surface tension and capillary forces in conventional liquids (the same forces that drive water up through trees and form a meniscus at the surface of a liquid in a container) can crush delicate framework structures as the liquid evaporates. Solvent exchange with a lower-surface-tension liquid before drying can reduce but not eliminate this risk.
• Freeze Drying (Lyophilization): A gel-like mixture containing MOF powder is frozen, then the frozen solvent is sublimated (converted directly from solid to gas) under vacuum. This bypasses the liquid phase entirely and avoids capillary forces. This works well for moderately robust frameworks, but some ultra-delicate structures can still be damaged.
• Supercritical CO₂ Drying: For the most delicate frameworks, supercritical carbon dioxide drying is the gold standard. Carbon dioxide has a critical temperature of approximately 31°C and a critical pressure of about 74 bar. At conditions above this critical point, CO₂ enters a supercritical state: a phase that behaves like both a gas and a liquid but crucially has no surface tension, no capillary forces, and no meniscus. The solvent in the framework pores is first exchanged with liquid CO₂, then the temperature and pressure are carefully adjusted to bring the CO₂ past its critical point. Once supercritical, the CO₂ can be vented without any destructive capillary forces acting on the framework walls. Research at institutions including Northwestern University and the University of Michigan has shown that supercritical CO₂ activation can increase a MOF’s accessible surface area by up to 1,200% compared to conventional drying methods.
Rather than synthesizing the framework as a powder and then trying to attach it to a substrate, in-situ growth involves crystallizing the framework directly on the surface of the target material, similar to how rock candy crystals grow on a string suspended in supersaturated sugar solution. The precursor solution containing the metal salt and organic linker is brought into contact with a substrate, such as a metal foam, fiber mesh, or ceramic monolith, and framework crystals nucleate and grow directly on the surface. This approach is particularly valuable for applications like water-harvesting devices, catalytic reactors, and filter systems where the framework must be intimately bonded to a support structure.
Traditional solvothermal MOF synthesis requires heating precursor solutions in sealed vessels at high temperatures for five to seven days. Recent breakthroughs have dramatically accelerated this timeline. Researchers have demonstrated that using divalent metal acetate precursors in controlled dissolution-crystallization methods can produce highly crystalline MOFs at room temperature in just minutes. Microwave-assisted synthesis has reduced the production time for important MOFs like MOF-303 (a key water-harvesting material) from 24 hours to as little as 5 minutes. Mechanochemical synthesis using ball mills can produce frameworks in minutes with minimal solvent use. MOF gel (MOG) formation using specific solvent systems like DMSO can trigger rapid gelation processes, creating monolithic frameworks in dramatically shortened timeframes.
MOFs, in particular, can be incredibly delicate. Many degrade when exposed to moisture, heat, or mechanical stress. A core engineering challenge, and one that CM-Tech students must master, is protecting frameworks from the environment around them. This includes selecting moisture-stable framework chemistries (such as zirconium-based MOFs like UiO-66, which can withstand water exposure and temperatures exceeding 300°C), designing protective enclosures and packaging, developing coatings or composite structures that shield the active framework material, and understanding the degradation mechanisms so that replacement schedules can be optimized.
With tens of thousands of known MOFs and a practically infinite number of possible structures, selecting the correct framework for a specific application is a critical skill. General principles include:
• For stationary applications (industrial carbon capture, water treatment plants): heavier MOFs with robust metal nodes like zirconium or chromium can be used, since weight is not a constraint. Framework stability and capacity are the primary concerns.
• For mobile or weight-sensitive applications (aviation, automotive fuel cells, portable electronics): COFs, which are built from light elements, are generally preferred because they reduce overall system weight.
• For extreme environments (high-temperature catalysis, corrosive atmospheres): stable zirconium-based MOFs, certain aluminum-based MOFs, or thermally robust COFs should be selected.
• For water harvesting: MOF-303 (aluminum-based) has emerged as a leading candidate, capable of capturing water vapor from desert air at relative humidity as low as 10-12% and releasing it under mild solar heating.
The number of possible frameworks is, for practical purposes, infinite. Different combinations of metal nodes, organic linkers, topologies, and functional groups yield distinct structures with different properties. Testing each one experimentally is impossible. This is where computational science and artificial intelligence become indispensable.
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold program, which won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a protein-folding problem, demonstrated that machine learning could predict the three-dimensional structures of biological molecules with extraordinary accuracy. The underlying principles, using deep learning to predict how molecular building blocks assemble into complex three-dimensional structures, have been adapted and repurposed for materials science, including reticular chemistry. Machine learning algorithms can now screen hundreds of thousands of hypothetical MOF and COF structures for specific properties (gas storage capacity, water uptake, selectivity, stability) in a fraction of the time that molecular simulations would require.
Key computational resources include the Computation-Ready Experimental MOF database (CoRE MOF), which catalogs experimentally synthesized structures ready for computational screening; hypothetical MOF databases containing millions of computer-generated structures; high-throughput screening tools powered by grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and density functional theory; and generative AI systems like MOFGen, which combine large language models, diffusion algorithms, and machine-learning force fields to design novel synthesizable frameworks. Argonne National Laboratory, for example, has used generative AI to assemble over 120,000 new MOF candidates within 30 minutes on a supercomputer, then narrowed the candidates through molecular dynamics simulations.
CM-Tech students will learn how to use these computational tools to identify promising framework candidates for specific applications, generate short lists of frameworks worth synthesizing and testing in the laboratory, and understand the structure-property relationships that govern framework performance.
A central thesis of CM-Tech’s program is that the frameworks themselves will become increasingly cheap as production scales up. At that point, the dominant cost will be the labor associated with installing, maintaining, and replacing framework-based systems. Every minute saved during installation, every confusion avoided during maintenance, directly reduces cost and accelerates adoption. CM-Tech students will learn to think like industrial engineers: designing systems for ease of transport, rapid installation, and simple maintenance.
This includes designing modular cartridge systems that can be swapped without specialized tools, standardizing connection interfaces so that different framework formulations can be used interchangeably, incorporating visual and tactile indicators for correct installation orientation, minimizing the number of steps and the total time required for maintenance operations, and designing packaging that protects delicate frameworks during shipping while remaining easy to open on-site.
CM-Tech places significant emphasis on accessible design, which benefits everyone, not just people with specific disabilities. The program draws on principles from cockpit design in aviation, where a phenomenon called cockpit confusion has led to accidents when pilots, tired and operating in low-light conditions, confused two identical-looking controls positioned next to each other.
The core principle: if a device has an interface, and a person who cannot see it would be unable to use it, then the design is not truly accessible. Buttons, knobs, switches, and connectors should be distinguishable by touch (different shapes, textures, sizes) so that a technician can identify which one they are interacting with without diverting their visual attention. This approach, sometimes called universal design or error-resistant design, reduces mistakes for all users, whether they are experienced professionals working in challenging conditions, trainees performing their first installation, or individuals with visual or other impairments.
Framework synthesis fundamentally involves dissolving precursor materials into a solvent, allowing the framework to crystallize, and then removing the solvent. The framework stays; the solvent is recovered or disposed of. This means that cost reduction comes from two directions: finding cheaper sources of precursor materials and finding cheaper, greener solvents. CM-Tech’s strategy is to source materials from waste streams whenever possible, turning environmental liabilities into economic assets.
Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth, found in the cell walls of every plant. Agricultural waste, such as corn husks, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, wheat straw, and virtually any other crop residue that would otherwise rot in the field or be burned (contributing to air pollution), is an abundant, low-cost source of cellulose. Cellulose can serve as a scaffold or support material for MOF composites, where MOF nanocrystals are grown on or incorporated into cellulose fibers or aerogels. Research has demonstrated that cellulose-MOF composites are effective for water treatment, including removal of heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and copper. These composites combine the high porosity and surface area of MOFs with the low density, flexibility, and mechanical integrity of cellulose.
Chitosan is a biopolymer derived from chitin, which is the structural component of crustacean exoskeletons (shrimp, crab, lobster shells). The seafood processing industry generates millions of tons of shell waste annually, most of which is currently discarded and creates environmental problems. Chitosan is produced by treating chitin with an alkaline substance to remove acetyl groups (a process called deacetylation). Crustacean shells typically contain 25-30% chitin, 25% protein, and 40-50% calcium carbonate.
Chitosan has remarkable properties for framework applications: it is biocompatible, biodegradable, antimicrobial, and capable of chelating metal ions. It can be formed into beads, membranes, sponges, fibers, and gels. Chitosan can serve as a support matrix for MOF nanoparticles, helping to shape MOF powders into usable forms like filtration beads or membranes. China, India, and Japan currently dominate global chitosan production, but any region with a seafood processing industry can produce it locally. For CM-Tech, which is focused on Appalachian resources, sourcing chitosan from regional seafood processors or establishing partnerships with coastal operations represents an opportunity.
West Virginia for example has nearly 2,000 miles of streams polluted by acid mine drainage (AMD), a legacy of decades of coal mining. When coal mines expose pyrite (iron sulfide) to air and water, sulfuric acid forms and dissolves heavy metals from surrounding rock. The resulting toxic runoff, rich in iron, aluminum, manganese, and other metals, coats stream beds with rust-colored deposits and kills aquatic life.
The no longer active Richard Mine near Morgantown, for example, discharges an average of 400 gallons per minute of metal-laden water. WVU researchers have discovered that this pollution can contains rare earth elements crucial for batteries, solar panels, and military technologies. A new state-operated facility at the Richard Mine is already using higher-tech methods to clean up the water and recover these valuable materials.
For CM-Tech, acid mine drainage represents a potential source of metal precursors for framework synthesis. The metals dissolved in AMD, particularly iron and aluminum, are commonly used in MOF synthesis. By extracting metals from contaminated water, CM-Tech students / graduates could simultaneously remediate environmental damage (potentially earning payment for the cleanup service), obtain metal precursors at extremely low cost (or even at a profit), develop hands-on experience with water treatment and materials recovery, and create a compelling demonstration of circular economy principles.
The underlying logic is powerful: wherever a chemical is considered a contaminant, someone is likely willing to pay for its removal. If that same chemical can be recycled into framework precursors, the economics become doubly favorable. CM-Tech students will learn to identify waste streams that contain useful precursors, evaluate the economics of extraction versus purchasing virgin materials, design extraction and purification processes, and navigate the regulatory landscape for environmental remediation.
CM-Tech’s model draws inspiration from introductory engineering design courses at universities, where all freshman engineering students participate in a hands-on design-build-test project. At UMD, for example, every engineering and material's science student takes Introduction to Engineering Design, in which teams design, build, and race autonomous hovercraft as their first engineering design project. These courses, often called Introductory Engineering Design Seminars or Integrated Design Studios, serve to get students excited about engineering, teach teamwork and communication, introduce the design lifecycle, and develop practical problem-solving skills.
CM-Tech’s version of this course, with a working title Integrated Design Seminar in Applied Reticular Chemistry, will be organized around project-based learning where each project integrates reticular chemistry, industrial engineering, biomimicry, and global supply chain logistics. Students will work in teams across the full design lifecycle: problem definition, computational screening, laboratory synthesis, prototype engineering, field testing, supply chain analysis, and presentation.
The following projects have been identified as potential starting points:
Design and prototype a water-harvesting device that uses MOF-303 (aluminum-based) or similar grown in situ on fractal-patterned, leaf-like structures. The device imitates the flutter of natural leaves to maximize air exposure and uses capillary forces to transport captured water from the framework surface to a central collection point. The harvested water is deposited into demi-lune (half-moon) earthworks, a traditional Sahel water-harvesting technique being revived as part of Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative.
Technical Details
MOF-303 can capture water from air at relative humidity as low as 10-12% and release it under mild solar heating. In Death Valley tests, Yaghi’s team demonstrated passive harvesting of 210-285 grams of water per kilogram of MOF per day using only ambient sunlight. The aluminum precursor costs approximately $3 per kilogram, making MOF-303 economically viable for large-scale deployment. In-situ growth on metal foam or fabric substrates eliminates the need for separate shaping steps. Fractal-pattern leaf designs, inspired by natural phyllotaxis (leaf arrangement patterns), maximize the ratio of MOF surface area exposed to airflow per unit of device volume. The flutter-inducing geometry promotes passive airflow without requiring fans or pumps.
Potential Target Deployment
The country of Chad, where the Great Green Wall initiative originated during a 2002 summit in N’Djamena, and where demi-lune (half-moon) earthworks are already being installed to capture seasonal rainfall. These crescent-shaped depressions, typically 2-6 meters in diameter and arranged in staggered rows, are designed to capture and retain scarce rainwater. CM-Tech’s synthetic trees would be installed within these half-moons, supplementing rainfall capture with MOF-harvested atmospheric moisture deposited directly into the soil.
Supply Chain Integration
Aluminum precursors sourced from acid mine drainage in Appalachia; cellulose scaffolding from regional agricultural waste; chitosan coatings (for moisture management and antimicrobial protection) from seafood processing waste.
Disciplines Integrated
Reticular chemistry (MOF-303 synthesis and in-situ growth), biomimicry (leaf flutter, fractal patterns, capillary transport), industrial engineering (design for field installation, modular components, accessible interfaces), global supply chain logistics (West Virginia sourcing to Chad deployment, international shipping, local workforce training).
Design a portable, modular system that treats acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines, simultaneously cleaning contaminated water and recovering dissolved metals for use as MOF precursors. This project embodies the dual-benefit model: students could get paid (or at minimum source metals for free) while performing environmental remediation.
Technical Details
AMD treatment typically involves raising the pH of acidic water using limestone or lime, which causes dissolved metals (iron, aluminum, manganese) to precipitate as solid hydroxides. These precipitates can then be processed into metal salts suitable for framework synthesis. More advanced approaches can selectively recover rare earth elements, which are present in AMD at low concentrations but become economically significant when processing large volumes. West Virginia’s acid mine drainage for example contains iron and aluminum in particular abundance, both of which are common MOF metal nodes.
Design Challenges
Creating a portable, low-power system that can be deployed at remote mine sites; designing filter cartridges using MOF or chitosan-cellulose composite media for selective metal capture; engineering modular units that are easy to transport, install, and maintain by local non-specialist workers; applying accessible design principles so that maintenance does not require specialized training; developing a supply chain for recovered metals from precipitation to purification to framework synthesis.
Disciplines Integrated
Environmental chemistry, water treatment engineering, reticular chemistry (using recovered metals for MOF synthesis), industrial engineering (portable system design), supply chain logistics (from mine site to laboratory to product).
Design a small-scale carbon capture system using MOFs optimized for CO₂ adsorption, coupled with a conversion pathway that transforms captured CO₂ into useful chemical precursors (such as methanol or formic acid) that can serve as feedstocks for the petroleum and chemical industries.
Technical Details
Several MOF families show excellent CO₂ capture performance. MOF-5 variants, amine-functionalized MOFs, and open-metal-site frameworks like the MOF-74 family have demonstrated high CO₂ uptake capacities. Machine learning screening tools can rapidly identify the best candidates from databases of over 100,000 structures. Catalytic MOFs can drive the conversion of captured CO₂ into useful chemicals under relatively mild conditions.
Design Challenges
Selecting the optimal MOF for the specific CO₂ concentration and conditions of the target emission source; engineering a regenerable capture system (temperature-swing or pressure-swing adsorption); designing the catalytic conversion stage; analyzing the full lifecycle economics and carbon balance of the system.
Disciplines Integrated
Reticular chemistry, catalysis, process engineering, lifecycle analysis, supply chain logistics for capturing CO₂ from a specific source and delivering the converted product to market.
Design a point-of-use or community-scale water filtration system that uses MOF-based filter cartridges to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or “forever chemicals”) and heavy metals from drinking water. The system must be designed for easy cartridge replacement, with accessible design features that prevent installation errors.
Technical Details
The 2025 Nobel Prize announcement specifically highlighted MOFs’ potential for separating PFAS from water and breaking down pharmaceutical traces. MOF-based adsorbents have shown high selectivity for PFAS compounds and heavy metal ions. Cellulose-MOF composite beads can serve as the active filtration medium, combining high adsorption capacity with the structural integrity needed for packed-bed operation. Chitosan membranes can provide secondary filtration for particulate matter and biological contaminants.
Design Challenges
Engineering filter cartridges that are easy to manufacture, ship, and replace; applying cockpit confusion prevention principles so that cartridges cannot be installed incorrectly (different shapes, textures, or connection types for different cartridge positions); designing flow paths that minimize pressure drop while maximizing contact time; developing regeneration protocols to extend cartridge life; sourcing MOF precursors from waste streams wherever possible.
Disciplines Integrated
Reticular chemistry, water treatment, accessible design, industrial engineering, consumer product design, supply chain logistics.
Design a lightweight hydrogen storage module using COFs optimized for hydrogen adsorption, targeted at fuel-cell electric vehicles. COFs are preferred here because their lower density (built from light elements like carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen) directly reduces the weight penalty of onboard hydrogen storage.
Technical Details
Hydrogen storage is one of the most cited potential applications of porous materials. The Nobel Committee’s announcement noted that the MOF NU-1501 can store and release hydrogen at normal pressure. COFs offer similar pore tunability with significantly lower framework density. Computational screening can identify COF candidates with optimal pore geometry for hydrogen at relevant temperatures and pressures. The design challenge extends beyond the framework itself to the complete storage module: pressure vessel design, thermal management during adsorption and desorption cycles, safety systems, and integration with the vehicle’s fuel cell.
Disciplines Integrated
Reticular chemistry (COF synthesis and characterization), mechanical engineering (pressure vessel design), thermal engineering, safety engineering, automotive systems integration, supply chain logistics for lightweight materials.
Design a slow-release soil amendment system using framework composites that capture nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and water, then release them gradually to plant roots. The amendment is manufactured from locally sourced waste materials: cellulose from agricultural residues, chitosan from seafood waste, and metals recovered from acid mine drainage.
Technical Details
MOF and COF composites can be designed to absorb and slowly release specific molecules. Combined with cellulose and chitosan carriers, these composites can be formed into granules or pellets suitable for soil incorporation. Chitosan itself has established applications in agriculture as a seed treatment and biopesticide. The combination of controlled-release nutrients, water retention, and antimicrobial properties in a single amendment could significantly benefit degraded soils, including those in the Great Green Wall region.
Disciplines Integrated
Reticular chemistry, agricultural science, materials engineering, supply chain logistics, international development.
The following table summarizes frameworks that have demonstrated strong performance in laboratory testing and are considered ready or near-ready for production scale-up:
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 Press Release —
nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2025/press-release/
• Science (AAAS): The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Metal-Organic Frameworks — science.org
• Chemistry World: Explainer on MOFs —
chemistryworld.com/news/explainer-why-have-metal-organic-frameworks-won-the-nobel prize/4022288
• Nature Collections: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 — nature.com/collections/cjdfehjagc
• Activation of MOF Materials (CrystEngComm, RSC) —
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/ce/c3ce41232f
• Supercritical CO₂ for MOF processing (JACS, ACS) —
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja808853q
• Minute/Instant MOF Synthesis (PMC) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9417639/
• Scalable Continuous Flow MOF Synthesis Using scCO₂ (ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.) — pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c01429
• MOF Synthesis Methods overview (Ossila) —
ossila.com/pages/how-to-make-metal-organic-frameworks
Water Harvesting
• MOF-303 Synthesis Protocols (Nature Protocols, 2023) —
nature.com/articles/s41596-022-00756-w
• MOF Water Harvester — Death Valley (Yaghi Lab) —
yaghi.berkeley.edu/pdfPublications/23MOFwaterdevice.pdf
• Berkeley News: Next-gen Water Harvester —
news.berkeley.edu/2018/06/08/in-desert-trials-next-generation-water-harvester/
• ACS Central Science: MOFs for Water Harvesting Anywhere, Anytime — pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.0c00678
• WVU Water Research Institute: Pulling Pollution and Rare Earths from Streams — wvwri.wvu.edu/news/2025/07/01/how-west-virginia-is-pulling-pollution-and-rare-earths-o ut-of-its-streams
• EHN: Toxic Mine Runoff Cleanup and Rare Earths —
ehn.org/toxic-mine-runoff-cleanup-revives-west-virginia-waterways
• ScienceDaily: One in Five WV Streams Damaged —
sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120730155057.htm
• Chitosan (Wikipedia overview) — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitosan
• Crustacean Shell Waste for Chitin (ScienceDirect) —
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893923000701
• Cellulose-MOF Composites for Water Treatment (PMC) —
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10177928/
• MOFs from Waste PET and Wastewater (ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2025) — pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c02222
AI and Computational Screening
• Google DeepMind: AlphaFold — deepmind.google/science/alphafold/
• ML for MOF Discovery (JACS Au) — pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.4c00618
• MOFGen: System of Agentic AI for MOF Discovery (arXiv, 2025) —
arxiv.org/html/2504.14110v1
• Argonne National Lab: AI for Carbon Capture MOFs —
anl.gov/article/argonne-scientists-use-ai-to-identify-new-materials-for-carbon-capture
• Chemistry World: ML for CO₂-Capturing MOFs —
chemistryworld.com/news/ai-enables-quicker-search-for-mofs-to-soak-up-carbon-dioxide
• Great Green Wall (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(Africa) • Semi-circular Bund/Demi-lune (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicircular_bund
• American Scientist: Growing the Great Green Wall —
americanscientist.org/article/growing-the-great-green-wall
• UNEP: Green Wall for Peace and Nature —
unep.org/news-and-stories/story/green-wall-promote-peace
• UMD ENES 100 Hovercraft Competition —
eng.umd.edu/event/8403/enes-100-hovercraft-competition
• Kent State Intro to Engineering Hovercraft Projects —
kent.edu/cae/news/introduction-engineering-class-demonstrates-hovercraft-projects
• U. Michigan Aerospace Skunkworks Courses —
aero.engin.umich.edu/2020/04/02/airships-and-hovercraft/
