| Symbol | Description |
| Ar | argon |
| BET | Brunauer-Emmett-Teller |
| Co | cobalt |
| CO2 | carbon dioxide |
| GAB | Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer |
| H2O | water |
| IFP | Imidazolate framework Potsdam |
| IL | ionized linker |
| IR | infrared |
| L | linker |
| M | metal center |
| MOF | metal organic framework |
| N2 | nitrogen |
| NMR | nuclear magnetic resonance |
| PXRD | powder x-ray diffractometry |
| R | moiety |
| STP | standard temperature and pressure |
| ZIF | zeolitic imidazolate framework |
| Zn | zinc |