A series of isoreticular metal-organic frameworks composed of metal nodes connected by rigid trigonal prismatic organic linkers and having a 6,12-coordinatled alb network topology are provided. Also provided are methods of synthesizing the metal-organic frameworks and methods of using the metal-organic frameworks to catalyze the hydrolysis of organic molecules, such as nerve agents, having hydrolysable bonds.

A catalyst including gold, or a compound thereof, and sulphur, a compound of sulphur, trichloroisocyanuric acid or a metal dichloroisocyanurate on a support, together with a process for manufacturing the catalyst and its use in a chemical process are described.

A series of isoreticular metal-organic frameworks composed of metal nodes connected by rigid trigonal prismatic organic linkers and having a 6,12-coordinatled alb network topology are provided. Also provided are methods of synthesizing the metal-organic frameworks and methods of using the metal-organic frameworks to catalyze the hydrolysis of organic molecules, such as nerve agents, having hydrolysable bonds.

Highly stable high-entropy metal-organic frameworks (HEMOFs) are derived from polynuclear metal clusters, incorporating significant levels of all rare-earth metals without segregation. As an example, HEMOFs comprising nonanuclear metal clusters of rare-earth element ions with similar size and coordination chemistry connected by 1,2,4,5-tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) benzene linkers was developed, providing a metal-organic framework with high internal surface area and accessible Lewis acid sites. This new class of HEMOFs enables the development of multifunctional materials with tailored properties for a wide range of applications, including in catalysis. For example, these HEMOFs are highly active for CO.sub.2 fixation under mild conditions and short reaction times, outperforming existing heterogeneous catalysts.