Another area where they have real potential is in the field of carbon capture, which a team of researchers in Australia has demonstrated with a sponge-like device that adsorbs CO2 using just a third of the energy of other methods.

MOFs are made from metal ions fashioned into a crystalline structure to offer the largest surface area of any known material. It is said that the porous nature of MOFs would allow one the size of a teaspoon to accommodate the whole surface of a football field, a unique characteristic that offers incredible potential.