Energy-saving potential of using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for indoor moisture control: a passive approach

A passive-type moisture regulation system can efficiently regulate the indoor humidity within the desirable range and reduce the energy consumption of air-conditioning systems. However, the energy-saving potential of the system is primarily dependent on the selection of sorbent materials, more precisely, the moisture buffering performance. To date, researchers mainly focused on exploring the moisture buffering of traditional/conventional materials. Here, a novel type of nanoporous materials, Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), with remarkable sorption capacity, was investigated. This study conducted experiments to compare the practical moisture buffer value (MBV) of MOFs with some traditional materials. The results indicate that the MBV of MIL-100(Fe) is 8.6 times larger than gypsum. Numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the energy-saving performance of MOFs for indoor humidity control in different climates. The results show that MIL-100(Fe) has an excellent energy-saving potential of the latent load than most traditional materials. The study proves that MOFs are promising candidates for energy-efficient autonomous humidity regulation.