Core-Shell Structures Arise Naturally During Ligand Exchange in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Examination of the microstructure of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) after postsynthetic exchange (PSE) reveals that the exchanged ligand is concentrated at the edges of the crystal and decreases in concentration with crystal depth, resulting in a core-shell arrangement. Diffusion studies of the carboxylate ligand into MOF-5 indicate that diffusion is limiting to the exchange process and may ultimately be responsible for the observed core-shell structure. Examination of PSE in UMCM-8 and single crystals of UiO-66 shows a similar trend, illustrating the applicability of PSE as a method for the creation of core-shell MOFs.

Rapid Guest Exchange and Ultra-Low Surface Tension Solvents Optimize Metal-Organic Framework Activation.

Exploratory research into the critical steps in metal-organic framework (MOF) activation involving solvent exchange and solvent evacuation are reported. It is discovered that solvent exchange kinetics are extremely fast, and minutes rather days are appropriate for solvent exchange in many MOFs. It is also demonstrated that choice of a very low surface tension solvent is critical in successfully activating challenging MOFs. MOFs that have failed to be activated previously can achieve predicted surface areas provided that lower surface tension solvents, such as n-hexane and perfluoropentane, are applied. The insights herein aid in the efficient activation of MOFs in both laboratory and industrial settings and provide best practices for avoiding structural collapse.

A Perylene-Based Microporous Coordination Polymer Interacts Selectively with Electron-Poor Aromatics.

The design, synthesis, and properties of the new microporous coordination polymer UMCM-310 are described. The unique electronic character of the perylene-based linker enables selective interaction with electron-poor aromatics leading to efficient separation of nitroaromatics. UMCM-310 possesses high surface area and large pore size and thus permits the separation of large organic molecules based on adsorption rather than size exclusion.

Purification of Chloromethane by Selective Adsorption of Dimethyl Ether on Microporous Coordination Polymers.

The use of microporous coordination polymers with coordinatively unsaturated metal centers in the removal of dimethyl ether from chloromethane via flow was explored as an alternative to current industrial methods. Three different materials examined, Co/DOBDC, MIL-100(Fe), and HKUST-1, were able to efficiently purify chloromethane through selective adsorption of dimethyl ether. The recyclability of Co/DOBDC after separation was also examined, and little loss of capacity for dimethyl ether over the course of multiple regeneration cycles was observed.

Water sensitivity in Zn4O-based MOFs is structure and history dependent.

Moisture can cause irreversible structural collapse in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) resulting in decreased internal surface areas and pore volumes. The details of such structural collapse with regard to pore size evolution during degradation are currently unknown due to a lack of suitable in situ probes of porosity. Here we acquire MOF porosity data under dynamic conditions by incorporating a flow-through system in tandem with positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). From the decrease in porosity, we have observed an induction period for water degradation of some Zn4O-based MOFs that signals much greater stability than commonly believed to be possible. The sigmoidal trend in the degradation curve of unfunctionalized MOFs caused by water vapor has been established from the temporal component of pore size evolution as characterized by in situ PALS. IRMOF-3 is found to degrade at a lower relative humidity than MOF-5, a likely consequence of the amine groups in the structure, although, in contrast to MOF-5, residual porosity remains. The presence of an induction period, which itself depends on previous water exposure of the sample (history dependence), and sigmoidal temporal behavior of the moisture-induced degradation mechanism of MOFs was also verified using powder X-ray diffraction analysis and ex situ gas adsorption measurements. Our work provides insight into porosity evolution under application-relevant conditions as well as identifying chemical and structural characteristics influencing stability.

Filling pore space in a microporous coordination polymer to improve methane storage performance.

A strategy that allows the tuning of pore size in microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) through modification of their organic linkers is presented. When large substituents are introduced onto the linker, these pendent groups partially occupy the pores, thus reducing pore size while serving as additional adsorption sites for gases. The approach takes advantage of the fact that, for methane storage materials, small pores (0.4-0.8 nm in diameter) are more desirable than large pores since small pores promote optimal volumetric capacity. This method was demonstrated with IRMOF-8, a MCP constructed from Zn4O metal clusters and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate (NDC) linkers. The NDC was functionalized through the addition of substituents including tert-butylethynyl or phenylethynyl groups. High pressure methane uptake demonstrates that the IRMOF-8 derivatives have significantly better performance than the unfunctionalized material in terms of both excess volumetric uptake and deliverable capacity. Moreover, IRMOF-8 derivatives also give rise to stronger interactions with methane molecules as shown by higher heat of adsorption values.

The Role of Modulators in Controlling Layer Spacings in a Tritopic Linker Based Zirconium 2D Microporous Coordination Polymer.

A 2D zirconium-based microporous coordination polymer derived from the tritopic linker 1,3,5-(4-carboxylphenyl)benzene, UMCM-309a, has been synthesized. This noninterpenetrated material possesses a Zr6(µ3-O)4(µ3-OH)4(RCO2)6(OH)6(H2O)6 cluster with six hexagonal-planar-coordinated linkers. UMCM-309a is stable in an aqueous HCl solution for over 4 months. The use of different monocarboxylates as modulators leads to similar 2D structures with different layer spacings; moreover, removal of the modulator yields the parent UMCM-309a.

Porous solids arising from synergistic and competing modes of assembly: combining coordination chemistry and covalent bond formation.

Design and synthesis of porous solids employing both reversible coordination chemistry and reversible covalent bond formation is described. The combination of two different linkage modes in a single material presents a link between two distinct classes of porous materials as exemplified by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). This strategy, in addition to being a compelling material-discovery method, also offers a platform for developing a fundamental understanding of the factors influencing the competing modes of assembly. We also demonstrate that even temporary formation of reversible connections between components may be leveraged to make new phases thus offering design routes to polymorphic frameworks. Moreover, this approach has the striking potential of providing a rich landscape of structurally complex materials from commercially available or readily accessible feedstocks.

Microporous coordination polymers as efficient sorbents for air dehumidification.

Air drying is a widespread and critical industrial process. Removal of water from air is commonly accomplished by passage through a desiccant such as alumina; modest water capacity and energy intensive regeneration are limitations of currently used sorbents. Microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) are demonstrated here to be efficient desiccants for the dehumidification of air, and a comparison of their capacity, regenerability, and efficiency with commercial activated alumina is conducted. Complete regeneration using dry air with mild heating is achieved. The attainment of high capacity for the adsorption of water coupled to facile regeneration indicates that gas dehumidification may be an important application for MCPs.

Heterogenization of homogeneous catalysts in metal-organic frameworks via cation exchange.

This paper describes the heterogenization of single-site transition-metal catalysts in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via cation exchange. A variety of cationic complexes of Pd, Fe, Ir, Rh, and Ru have been incorporated into ZJU-28, and the new materials have been characterized by optical microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. MOF-supported [Rh(dppe)(COD)]BF4 catalyzes the hydrogenation of 1-octene to n-octane. The activity of this supported catalyst compares favorably to its homogeneous counterpart, and it can be recycled at least four times. Overall, this work provides a new and general approach for supporting transition-metal catalysts in MOFs.

Evidence of Positronium Bloch states in porous crystals of Zn4O-coordination polymers.

Positronium (Ps) is shown to exist in a delocalized state in self-assembled metalorganic crystals that have large 1.3-1.5 nm cell sizes. Belonging to a class of materials with record high accessible specific surface areas, these highly porous crystals are the first to allow direct probing with simple annihilation lifetime techniques of the transport properties of long-lived triplet Ps in what is hypothesized to be a Bloch state. Delocalized Ps has unprecedented (high) Ps mobility driven primarily by weak phonon scattering with unusual and profound consequences on how Ps probes the lattice.

Interpenetration, porosity, and high-pressure gas adsorption in Zn4O(2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate)3.

Microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) have emerged as strong contenders for adsorption-based fuel storage and delivery in large part because of their high specific surface areas. The strategy of increasing surface area by increasing organic linker length has shown only sporadic success; as demonstrated by many members of the iconic Zn4O-based IRMOF series, for example, accessible porosity is often limited by interpenetration or pore collapse upon guest removal. In this work, we focus on Zn4O(ndc)3 (IRMOF-8, ndc = 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate), which exhibits typical surface areas of only 1000-2000 m(2)/g even though a surface area of more than 4000 m(2)/g is expected from geometric analysis of the originally reported crystal structure. We recently showed that a high surface area could be produced with zinc and ndc by room-temperature synthesis followed by activation with flowing supercritical CO2. In this work, we investigate in detail the porosity of both the low- and high-surface-area materials. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is used to show that the low-surface-area material suffers from near-complete interpenetration, explaining why traditional synthetic routes have failed to yield materials with the expected porosity. Furthermore, the high-pressure hydrogen and methane sorption properties of noninterpenetrated Zn4O(ndc)3 are examined, and PALS is used to show that pore filling is not operative during room-temperature CH4 sorption even at pressures approaching 100 bar. These results provide insight into how gas adsorbs in high-surface-area materials at high pressure and reinforce previous contentions that increasing surface area alone is not sufficient for the simultaneous optimization of deliverable gravimetric and volumetric gas uptake in MCPs.

Highly dispersed palladium(II) in a defective metal-organic framework: application to C-H activation and functionalization.

High reversibility during crystallization leads to relatively defect-free crystals through repair of nonperiodic inclusions, including those derived from impurities. Microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) can achieve a high level of crystallinity through a related mechanism whereby coordination defects are repaired, leading to single crystals. In this work, we discovered and exploited the fact that this process is far from perfect for MCPs and that a minority ligand that is coordinatively identical to but distinct in shape from the majority linker can be inserted into the framework, resulting in defects. The reaction of Zn(II) with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H(2)BDC) in the presence of small amounts of 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (H(3)BTB) leads to a new crystalline material, MOF-5(O(h)), that is nearly identical to MOF-5 but has an octahedral morphology and a number of defect sites that are uniquely functionalized with dangling carboxylates. The reaction with Pd(OAc)(2) impregnates the metal ions, creating a heterogeneous catalyst with ultrahigh surface area. The Pd(II)-catalyzed phenylation of naphthalene within Pd-impregnated MOF-5(O(h)) demonstrates the potential utility of an MCP framework for modulating the reactivity and selectivity of such transformations. Furthermore, this novel synthetic approach can be applied to different MCPs and will provide scaffolds functionalized with catalytically active metal species.

Effect of humidity on the performance of microporous coordination polymers as adsorbents for CO2 capture.

The CO(2)-capture performance of microporous coordination polymers of the M/DOBDC series (where M = Zn, Ni, Co, and Mg; DOBDC = 2,5-dioxidobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate) was evaluated under flow-through conditions with dry surrogate flue gas (5/1 N(2)/CO(2)). The CO(2) capacities were found to track with static CO(2) sorption capacities at room temperature, with Mg/DOBDC demonstrating an exceptional capacity for CO(2) (23.6 wt %). The effect of humidity on the performance of Mg/DOBDC was investigated by collecting N(2)/CO(2)/H(2)O breakthrough curves at relative humidities (RHs) in the feed of 9, 36, and 70%. After exposure at 70% RH and subsequent thermal regeneration, only about 16% of the initial CO(2) capacity of Mg/DOBDC was recovered. However, in the case of Ni/DOBDC and Co/DOBDC, approximately 60 and 85%, respectively, of the initial capacities were recovered after the same treatment. These data indicate that although Mg/DOBDC has the highest capacity for CO(2), under the conditions used in this study, Co/DOBDC may be a more desirable material for deployment in CO(2) capture systems because of the added costs associated with flue gas dehumidification.

Hierarchical Nature of Nanoscale Porosity in Bone Revealed by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy.

Bone is a hierarchical material primarily composed of collagen, water, and mineral that is organized into discrete molecular, nano-, micro-, and macroscale structural components. In contrast to the structural knowledge of the collagen and mineral domains, the nanoscale porosity of bone is poorly understood. In this study, we introduce a well-established pore characterization technique, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), to probe the nanoscale size and distribution of each component domain by analyzing pore sizes inherent to hydrated bone together with pores generated by successive removal of water and then organic matrix (including collagen and noncollagenous proteins) from samples of cortical bovine femur. Combining the PALS results with simulated pore size distribution (PSD) results from collagen molecule and microfibril structure, we identify pores with diameter of 0.6 nm that suggest porosity within the collagen molecule regardless of the presence of mineral and water. We find that water occupies three larger domain size regions with nominal mean diameters of 1.1, 1.9, and 4.0 nm-spaces that are hypothesized to associate with intercollagen molecular spaces, terminal segments (d-spacing) within collagen microfibrils, and interface spacing between collagen and mineral structure, respectively. Subsequent removal of the organic matrix determines a structural pore size of 5-6 nm for deproteinized bone-suggesting the average spacing between mineral lamella. An independent method to deduce the average mineral spacing from specific surface area (SSA) measurements of the deproteinized sample is presented and compared with the PALS results. Together, the combined PALS and SSA results set a range on the mean mineral lamella thickness of 4-8 nm.

Coordination copolymerization mediated by Zn4O(CO2R)6 metal clusters: a balancing act between statistics and geometry.

Isolated successes of coordination copolymerization for the production of microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) have been reported recently; the logic for this synthetic approach has not been established nor have the key features of the synthetic conditions needed to generalize the method. Here, we establish guidelines for application of the copolymerization technique by exploring coordination modes and report, in addition to details on two previous coordination copolymers with exceptional properties, three new MCPs: UMCM-3 (Zn(4)O(2,5-thiophenedicaboxylate)(1.2)(1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene)(1.2)), UMCM-4 (Zn(4)O(1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)((3)/(2))(4,4',4''-tricarboxytriphenylamine)), and UMCM-5 (Zn(4)O(1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylate)(1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene)((4)/(3))). The MCPs prepared by the copolymerization technique demonstrate Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas between 3500-5200 m(2)/g and high pore volumes (1.64-2.37 cm(3)/g). In addition, the alignment of poly(3-hexylthiophene) within mesoporous channels of UMCM-1 is reported as a demonstration of the unique properties of these hosts.

Linker-directed vertex desymmetrization for the production of coordination polymers with high porosity.

Five non-interpenetrated microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) are derived by vertex desymmetrization using linkers with symmetry inequivalent coordinating groups, and these MCPs include properties such as rare metal clusters, new network topologies, and supramolecular isomerism. Gas sorption in polymorphic frameworks, UMCM-152 and UMCM-153 (based upon a copper-coordinated tetracarboxylated triphenylbenzene linker), reveals nearly identical properties with BET surface areas in the range of 3300-3500 m(2)/g and excess hydrogen uptake of 5.7 and 5.8 wt % at 77 K. In contrast, adsorption of organosulfur compounds dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT) shows remarkably different capacities, providing direct evidence that liquid-phase adsorption is not solely dependent on surface area or linker/metal cluster identity. Structural features present in MCPs derived from these reduced symmetry linkers include the presence of more than one type of Cu-paddlewheel in a structure derived from a terphenyl tricarboxylate (UMCM-151) and a three-bladed zinc paddlewheel metal cluster in an MCP derived from a pentacarboxylated triphenylbenzene linker (UMCM-154).

Metal-dependent phase selection in coordination polymers derived from a C(2V)-symmetric tricarboxylate.

Reacting biphenyl-3,4',5-tricarboxylic acid (H(3)BHTC) with the appropriate metal salt yields the microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) Mn(3)(BHTC)(2) (1), Mg(3)(BHTC)(2) (2), and Co(3)(BHTC)(2) (3) containing hourglass metal clusters. The addition of Cu to reactions with Co(II), Fe(III), or Mn(II) leads to the formation of heterobimetallic UMCM-150 isostructural analogues Co(1)Cu(2)(BHTC)(2) (4), Fe(1)Cu(2)(BHTC)(2) (5), and Mn(1)Cu(2)(BHTC)(2) (6) containing both paddlewheel and trinuclear metal clusters. X-ray diffraction analysis of the crystals of the heterobimetallic MCPs suggests that Cu on the trinuclear site of UMCM-150 was replaced by the other metal, whereas Cu in paddlewheel sites remains unchanged. N(2) sorption isotherms were measured for the mixed-metal UMCM-150 analogues, and it was confirmed that there is no structural collapse after the metal replacement.

A porous coordination copolymer with over 5000 m2/g BET surface area.

New levels of surface area are achieved in a coordination polymer (UMCM-2, University of Michigan Crystalline Material) derived from zinc-mediated coordination copolymerization of a dicarboxylic and tricarboxylic acid. In addition to a large micropore contribution to the surface area, mesopores are also present. In contrast to the recently reported coordination copolymer UMCM-1, which has a mesoporous channel, UMCM-2 is built from three types of cages. In spite of exceptional porosity, both of these coordination polymers are thermally robust. Hydrogen uptake performance of UMCM-2 approaches 7 wt% at 77 K.

Enabling cleaner fuels: desulfurization by adsorption to microporous coordination polymers.

Microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) are demonstrated to be efficient adsorbents for the removal of the organosulfur compounds dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT) from model diesel fuel and diesel fuel. For example, packed bed breakthrough experiments utilizing UMCM-150 find capacities of 25.1 g S/kg MCP for DBT and 24.3 g S/kg MCP for DMDBT from authentic diesel indicating that large amounts of fuel are desulfurized before the breakthrough point. Unlike activated carbons, where selectivity has been a problem, MCPs selectively adsorb the organosulfur compounds over other, similar components of diesel. Complete regeneration using toluene at modest temperatures is achieved. The attainment of high selectivities and capacities, particularly for the adsorption of the refractory compounds that are difficult to remove using current desulfurization techniques, in a reversible sorbent indicates that fuel desulfurization may be an important application for MCPs.