Hemilabile Binding of Acetylene in an Amide-Rich Ultramicroporous MOF Enables Strong Acetylene Selectivity.

Thanks to a hemilabile amide-based binding site, a previously unreported amide-functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) exhibits high acetylene affinity over ethylene, methane, and carbon dioxide, three-in-one.

Highly Efficient and Stable Inverted Perovskite Solar Cell Using Pure δ-FAPbI3 Single Crystals.

Pure δ-formamidinium lead triiodide (δ-FAPbI3 ) single crystal for highly efficient perovskite solar cell (PCS) with long-term stability is prepared by a new method consisting of liquid phase reaction of FAI and PbI2 in N,N-dimethyl formamide and antisolvent crystallization using acetonitrile. In this method, the incorporation of any impurity into the crystal is excluded by the molecular recognition of the crystal growth site. This pure crystal is used to fabricate α-FAPbI3 inverted PSCs which showed excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) due to much-reduced trap-states. The champion device exhibited a high PCE of 23.48% under the 1-Sun condition. Surface-treated devices with 3-(aminomethyl)pyridine showed a significantly improved PCE of 25.07%. In addition, the unencapsulated device maintained 97.22% of its initial efficiency under continuous 1-Sun illumination for 1,000 h at 85 °C in an N2 atmosphere ensuring long-term thermal and photo stabilities of PSCs, whereas the control device kept only 89.93%.

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as Functional Supramolecular Architectures for Anion Recognition and Sensing.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have experienced a tremendous growth during last few decades as porous crystalline molecular materials. The comprehensive effect of structural diversity, tunability and high surface area makes MOFs suitable for multifarious applications. MOFs can act as potential receptors toward different target components along with ionic species, small molecules, solvents, explosives etc. Anion recognition remains an important phenomena due to its involvement in many chemical and biological processes. Ligand designing, incorporation of appropriate functional groups and post-synthetic modifications are key strategies in MOFs for selective recognition and scavenging of environmentally toxic and detrimental anions (i. e. cyanide, oxo-anions etc.). The main focus of this personal account is on our research towards development and potential applications of MOFs with special emphasis on selective and sensitive anion sensing.

Sb(2)Se(3) -sensitized inorganic-organic heterojunction solar cells fabricated using a single-source precursor.

The photovoltaic performance of Sb2 Se3 -sensitized heterojunction solar cells, which were fabricated by a simple deposition of Sb2 Se3 on mesoporous TiO2 by an approach that features multiple cycles of spin coating with a single-source precursor solution and thermal decomposition, is reported. Poly[2,6-(4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b']dithiophene)-alt-4,7(2,1,3-benzothioadiazole)] was used as the hole-transporting material. The most efficient cell exhibited a short-circuit current density of 22.3 mA cm(-2) , an open-circuit voltage of 304.5 mV, and a fill factor of 47.2 %, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 3.21 % under standard test conditions (irradiation of 1000 W m(-2) , air mass=1.5 G). The results of this study imply that the developed approach has a high potential as a simple and effective route for the fabrication of efficient and inexpensive solar cells.

Correction: A hybrid blue perovskite@metal-organic gel (MOG) nanocomposite: simultaneous improvement of luminescence and stability.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9SC03829A.].

A hybrid blue perovskite@metal-organic gel (MOG) nanocomposite: simultaneous improvement of luminescence and stability.

Blue light-emitting hybrid perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are promising candidates for optoelectronic applications. However, these NCs suffer severely from low photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and inferior stability under working conditions. Herein, we report, for the first time, a simultaneous dramatic improvement in both the luminescence and the stability of hybrid perovskite NCs through embedding in a porous metal-organic gel (MOG) matrix. The nanocomposite (EAPbBr3@MOG, EA: ethylammonium) shows sharp emission in the intense blue region (λ max < 440 nm), with a substantial ten-fold enhancement in the PLQY (∼53%) compared with EAPbBr3 NCs (PLQY ∼5%). Incorporation of perovskite NCs into the soft MOG matrix provides the additional benefits of flexibility as well as water stability. As a proof of principle, these nanocomposites were further utilized to fabricate a white light-emitting diode. The combination of high brightness, stability and flexibility of these nanocomposites could render them viable contenders in the development of efficient, blue light-emitting diodes for practical applications.

Self assembled tetranuclear Cu4(II), Ni4(II) [2 × 2] square grids and a dicopper(II) complex of heterocycle based polytopic ligands - Magnetic studies.

The ditopic ligand PyPzOAP (N-[(Z)-amino(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene]-5-methyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carbohydrazonic acid) and the polytopic ligand 2-PzCAP (N'(3),N'(5)-bis[(1E)-1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]-1H-pyrazole-3,5-dicarbohydrazide) were synthesized in situ by condensation of methyl imino picolinate with 5-methyl-1-(2-pyridyl) pyrazole-3-carbohydrazide and 2-acetyl pyridine with pyrazole-3,5-dicarbohydrazide respectively. The ligands PyPzOAP and PzOAP (reported earlier, Dalton Trans., 2007, 1229) self-assemble to form homoleptic [2 × 2] tetranuclear M(4) (M = Cu(II) and Ni(II)) square grids structures [Cu(4)(PyPzOAP)(4)](NO(3))(4) (1), [Cu(4)(PzOAP)(4)](ClO(4))(4) (2) and [Ni(4)(PyPzOAP)(4)](NO(3))(4)·8H(2)O·2CH(3)CN (3). While the ligand 2-PzCAP forms a dicopper(II) complex [Cu(2)(2-PzCAP)(OH)(NO(3))(H(2)O)](NO(3))·2H(2)O (4). The complex 1 is a perfect square grid (a = 4.201 Å), whereas, 2 and 3 are almost square grids. All these compounds have been characterized by X-ray structural analyses and variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. EPR studies have also been carried out for complexes 1, 2 and 4. In the Cu(4) grid (1), all the Cu(II) centers are in a distorted octahedral environment with N(4)O(2) chromophore, while, in complex 2, all four Cu(II) centers have a square pyramidal environment with N(3)O(2) chromophore. In complex 3, all four Ni(II) centers have distorted octahedral geometry with N(4)O(2) chromophore. In compound 4, the Cu(II) centers are in square pyramidal environment with N(3)O(2) chromophore. The magnetic properties of compounds 1 and 2 show the presence of intramolecular ferromagnetic exchange interaction (J = 5.88 cm(-1) for 1 and 4.78 cm(-1) for 2). The complex 3 shows weak intramolecular antiferromagnetic interaction (J = -4.02 cm(-1)). While, complex 4, shows strong antiferromagnetic behavior (J = -443 cm(-1)).

Ferro- and anti-ferromagnetically coupled tetracopper(II) 2 x 2 homoleptic rectangular grids supported by both mu-O and mu-(N-N) bridges derived from a new pyrazole based polydentate Schiff base ligand-magneto-structural correlations and DFT calculation.

The pyrazole derived Schiff base polytopic ligand 5-methyl-N'-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]-1H-pyrazole-3-carbohydrazide (PzCAP), prepared by the reaction between 5-methylpyrazole-3-carbohydrazide and 2-acetyl pyridine, has two potentially bridging functional groups [mu-O and mu-(N-N)] and consequently can exhibit different coordination conformations. Two tetranuclear homoleptic copper(II) 2 x 2 rectangular grid-complexes [Cu(4)(PzCAP)(4)(NO(3))(2)] (NO(3))(2).8H(2)O (1) and [Cu(4)(PzCAP)(4)(ClO(4))(2)] (ClO(4))(2) (2) were formed by a strict self-assembly process employing metal and ligand under 1:1 mol proportion. Each pair of the ligand molecules in the two complexes are arranged in roughly parallel fashion but under different conformations. The ligand PzCAP contains terminal pyridine and pyrazole residues bound to a central flexible diazine subunit (N-N). The rectangular Cu(II) 2 x 2 grid complexes having [Cu(4)(mu-N-N)(2)(mu-O)(2)] core involve a mixture of two diazine (Cu-N-N-Cu approximately 160 degrees ) and two alkoxo (Cu-O-Cu approximately 138 degrees ) bridges along the length and breadth respectively. In the [Cu(4)(mu-N-N)(2)(mu-O)(2)] core in , out of the four Cu(II) centers, all are hexa-coordinated but there are two penta-coordinated and two hexa-coordinated Cu(II) centers in the same core of . Each complex having the central [Cu(4)(mu-N-N)(2)(mu-O)(2)] core, exhibits quite different magnetic interactions among the metal centers. The paramagnetic Cu(II) centers bridged through the diazine fragment are involved in anti-ferromagnetic interaction while a dominant ferromagnetic interaction prevails between the alkoxo-bridged Cu(II) centers. The [Cu(4)(mu-N-N)(2)(mu-O)(2)] cluster in shows both ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic interaction (J(1) = -0.80 cm(-1) and J(2) = +3.49 cm(-1)), a very unusual characteristic in this system while the same cluster in exhibits dominant anti-ferromagnetic coupling (J(1) = -89.1 cm(-1) and J(2) = +5.5 cm(-1)) through the trans Cu-(N-N)-Cu bridging arrangement, typical for systems of this sort. Both the complexes and have been characterized structurally, magnetically and spectroscopically. The exchange pathways parameters (J(1) and J(2)) have also been evaluated from density functional theoretical calculations to corroborate the bridging signatures with experimental findings.

An orthogonal ferromagnetically coupled tetracopper(II) 2 x 2 homoleptic grid supported by micro-O4 bridges and its DFT study.

A pyrazole based ditopic ligand (PzOAP), prepared by the reaction between 5-methylpyrazole-3-carbohydrazide and methyl ester of imino picolinic acid, reacts with Cu(NO3)2.6H2O to form a self-assembled, ferromagnetically coupled, alkoxide bridged tetranuclear homoleptic Cu(II) square grid-complex [Cu4(PzOAP)4(NO3)2] (NO3)2.4H2O (1) with a central Cu4[micro-O4] core, involving four ligand molecules. In the Cu4[micro-O4] core, out of four copper centers, two copper centers are penta-coordinated and the remaining two are hexa-coordinated. In each case of hexa-coordination, the sixth position is occupied by the nitrate ion. The complex 1 has been characterized structurally and magnetically. Although Cu-O-Cu bridge angles are too large (138-141 degrees) and Cu-Cu distances are short (4.043-4.131 A), suitable for propagation of expected antiferromagnetic exchange interactions within the grid, yet intramolecular ferromagnetic exchange (J = 5.38 cm(-1)) is present with S = 4/2 magnetic ground state. This ferromagnetic interaction is quite obvious from the bridging connections (d(x2-y2)) lying almost orthogonally between the metal centers. The exchange pathways parameters have been evaluated from density functional calculations.