Amorphous solid

Adsorption

Phase (matter)

Crystal (programming language)

Materials science

Phase transition

Computer science

Polymer

Thermodynamics

Physics

Amorphous metal

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Glass transition

Metal-organic framework

Chemistry

Programming language

Chemical Reviews

The crystal–liquid–glass phase transition of coordination polymers (CPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offers attractive opportunities as a new class of amorphous materials. Unlike conventional glasses, coordination chemistry allows the utilization of rational design concepts to fine-tune the desired properties. Although the glassy state has been rare in CPs/MOFs, it exhibits diverse advantages complementary to their crystalline counterparts, including improved mass transport, optical properties, mechanical properties, and the ability to form grain-boundary-free monoliths. This Review discusses the current achievements in improving the understanding of anomalous phase transitions in CPs/MOFs. We elaborate on the criteria for classifying CP/MOF glasses and comprehensively discuss the three common strategies employed to obtain a glassy state. We include all CP/MOF glass research progress since its inception, discuss the current challenges, and express our perspective on future research directions.

Metal–Organic Network-Forming Glasses