Unveiled the Source of the Structural Instability of HKUST Powders upon Mechanical Compaction: Definition of a Fully Preserving Tableting Method

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are getting closer to finally being used in commercial applications. In order to maximize their packing density, mechanical strength, stability in reactive environments, and many other properties, the compaction of MOF powders is a fundamental step for the application field of research of these extraordinary materials. In particular, HKUST-1 is among the most promising and studied MOF. Contrary to what reported so far in the literature, here we prove that the tableting of HKUST-1 powders without any damage of the lattice is possible and easy to get. For the first time, this kind of investigation has been performed exploiting its peculiar magnetic properties w…