Square Grid Metal-Chloranilate Networks as Robust Host Systems for Guest Sorption.

Reaction of the chloranilate dianion with Y(NO3 )3 in the presence of Et4 N+ in the appropriate proportions results in the formation of (Et4 N)[Y(can)2 ], which consists of anionic square-grid coordination polymer sheets with interleaved layers of counter-cations. These counter-cations, which serve as squat pillars between [Y(can)2 ] sheets, lead to alignment of the square grid sheets and the subsequent generation of square channels running perpendicular to the sheets. The crystals are found to be porous and retain crystallinity following cycles of adsorption and desorption. This compound exhibits a high affinity for volatile guest molecules, which could be identified within the framework by crystallographic methods. In situ neutron powder diffraction indicates a size-shape complementarity leading to a strong interaction between host and guest for CO2 and CH4 . Single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments indicate significant interactions between the host framework and discrete I2 or Br2 molecules. A series of isostructural compounds (cat)[MIII (X-an)2 ] with M=Sc, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Lu, Bi or In, cat=Et4 N, Me4 N and X-an=chloranilate, bromanilate or cyanochloranilate bridging ligands have been generated. The magnetic properties of representative examples (Et4 N)[Gd(can)2 ] and (Et4 N)[Dy(can)2 ] are reported with normal DC susceptibility but unusual AC susceptibility data noted for (Et4 N)[Gd(can)2 ].

Investigating the Case of Titanium(IV) Carboxyphenolate Photoactive Coordination Polymers.

The reactivity of 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (H4DOBDC) with titanium(IV) precursors was thoroughly investigated for the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks under solvothermal conditions. Four crystalline phases were isolated whose structures were studied by a combination of single-crystal or powder X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR. The strong coordination ability of the phenolate moieties was found to favor the formation of isolated TiO6 octahedra bearing solely organic ligands in the resulting structures, unless hydrothermal conditions and precondensed inorganic precursors are used. It is worth noting that these solids strongly absorb visible light, as a consequence of the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) arising from Ti-phenolate bonds. Preliminary photocatalytic tests suggest that one compound, namely, MIL-167, presents a higher activity for hydrogen evolution than the titanium carboxylate MIL-125-NH2 but that such an effect cannot be directly correlated with its improved light absorption feature.

Impact of the Nature of the Organic Spacer on the Crystallization Kinetics of UiO-66(Zr)-Type MOFs.

The influence of the constitutive dicarboxylate linkers (size, functional group) over the crystallization kinetics of a series of porous Zr metal-organic frameworks with the UiO-66 topology has been investigated by in situ time-resolved energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD). Both large aromatic spacers (2,6-naphthalene-, 4,4'-biphenyl- and 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-azobenzene-dicarboxylates) and a series of X-functionalized terephthalates (X=NH2 , NO2 , Br, CH3 ) were investigated in dimethylformamide (DMF) at different temperatures and compared with the parent UiO-66. Using different crystallization models, rate constants and further kinetic parameters (such as activation energy) have been extracted. Finally, the impact of the replacement of the toxic DMF by water on the crystallization kinetics was studied through the synthesis of the functionalized UiO-66-NO2 solid.

In situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction for the synthesis optimization and scale-up of the porous zirconium terephthalate UiO-66.

The synthesis optimization and scale-up of the benchmarked microporous zirconium terephthalate UiO-66(Zr) were investigated by evaluating the impact of several parameters (zirconium precursors, acidic conditions, addition of water, and temperature) over the kinetics of crystallization by time-resolved in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. Both the addition of hydrochloric acid and water were found to speed up the reaction. The use of the less acidic ZrOCl2·8H2O as the precursor seemed to be a suitable alternative to ZrCl4·xH2O, avoiding possible reproducibility issues as a consequence of the high hygroscopic character of ZrCl4. ZrOCl2·8H2O allowed the formation of smaller good quality UiO-66(Zr) submicronic particles, paving the way for their use within the nanotechnology domain, in addition to higher reaction yields, which makes this synthesis route suitable for the preparation of UiO-66(Zr) at a larger scale. In a final step, UiO-66(Zr) was prepared using conventional reflux conditions at the 0.5 kg scale, leading to a rather high space-time yield of 490 kg m(-3) day(-1), while keeping physicochemical properties similar to those obtained from smaller scale solvothermally prepared batches.

AI-assisted deep learning segmentation and quantitative analysis of X-ray microtomography data from biomass ashes.

X-ray microtomography is a non-destructive method that allows for detailed three-dimensional visualisation of the internal microstructure of materials. In the context of using phosphorus-rich residual streams in combustion for further ash recycling, physical properties of ash particles can play a crucial role in ensuring effective nutrient return and sustainable practices. In previous work, parameters such as surface area, porosity, and pore size distribution, were determined for ash particles. However, the image analysis involved binary segmentation followed by time-consuming manual corrections. The current work presents a method to implement deep learning segmentation and an approach for quantitative analysis of morphology, porosity, and internal microstructure. Deep learning segmentation was applied to microtomography data. The model, with U-Net architecture, was trained using manual input and algorithm prediction.•The trained and validated deep learning model could accurately segment material (ash) and air (pores and background) for these heterogeneous particles.•Quantitative analysis was performed for the segmented data on porosity, open pore volume, pore size distribution, sphericity, particle wall thickness and specific surface area.•Material features with similar intensities but different patterns, intensity variations in the background and artefacts could not be separated by manual segmentation - this challenge was resolved using the deep learning approach.

Using synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction for the structure determination of a new cocrystal formed by two active principle ingredients.

The crystal structure of a new 1:1 cocrystal of carbamazepine and S-naproxen (C15H12N2O·C14H14O3) was solved from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The PXRD pattern was measured at the high-resolution beamline CRISTAL at synchrotron SOLEIL (France). The structure was solved using Monte Carlo simulated annealing, then refined with Rietveld refinement. The positions of the H atoms were obtained from density functional theory (DFT) ground-state calculations. The symmetry is orthorhombic with the space group P212121 (No. 19) and the following lattice parameters: a = 33.5486 (9), b = 26.4223 (6), c = 5.3651 (10) Šand V = 4755.83 (19) Å3.

Relationship between synthesis method-crystal structure-melting properties in cocrystals: the case of caffeine-citric acid.

The influence of the crystal synthesis method on the crystallographic structure of caffeine-citric acid cocrystals was analyzed thanks to the synthesis of a new polymorphic form of the cocrystal. In order to compare the new form to the already known forms, the crystal structure of the new cocrystal (C8H10N4O2·C6H8O7) was solved by powder X-ray diffraction thanks to synchrotron experiments. The structure determination was performed using `GALLOP', a recently developed hybrid approach based on a local optimization with a particle swarm optimizer, particularly powerful when applied to the structure resolution of materials of pharmaceutical interest, compared to classical Monte-Carlo simulated annealing. The final structure was obtained through Rietveld refinement, and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to locate the H atoms. The symmetry is triclinic with the space group P-1 and contains one molecule of caffeine and one molecule of citric acid per asymmetric unit. The crystallographic structure of this cocrystal involves different hydrogen-bond associations compared to the already known structures. The analysis of these hydrogen bonds indicates that the cocrystal obtained here is less stable than the cocrystals already identified in the literature. This analysis is confirmed by the determination of the melting point of this cocrystal, which is lower than that of the previously known cocrystals.

Continuous negative-to-positive tuning of thermal expansion achieved by controlled gas sorption in porous coordination frameworks.

Control of the thermomechanical properties of functional materials is of great fundamental and technological significance, with the achievement of zero or negative thermal expansion behavior being a key goal for various applications. A dynamic, reversible mode of control is demonstrated for the first time in two Prussian blue derivative frameworks whose coefficients of thermal expansion are tuned continuously from negative to positive values by varying the concentration of adsorbed CO2. A simple empirical model that captures site-specific guest contributions to the framework expansion is derived, and displays excellent agreement with the observed lattice behaviour.

Using neutron powder diffraction and first-principles calculations to understand the working mechanisms of porous coordination polymer sorbents.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising solid sorbents, showing gas selectivity and uptake capacities relevant to many important applications, notably in the energy sector. To improve and tailor the sorption properties of these materials for such applications, it is necessary to gain an understanding of their working mechanisms at the atomic and molecular scale. Specifically, it is important to understand how features such as framework porosity, topology, chemical functionality and flexibility underpin sorbent behaviour and performance. Such information is obtained through interrogation of structure-function relationships, with neutron powder diffraction (NPD) being a particularly powerful characterization tool. The combination of NPD with first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations enables a deep understanding of the sorption mechanisms, and the resulting insights can direct the future development of MOF sorbents. In this paper, experimental approaches and investigations of two example MOFs are summarized, which demonstrate the type of information and the understanding into their functional mechanisms that can be gained. Such information is critical to the strategic design of new materials with targeted gas-sorption properties.

Extended and functionalized porous iron(III) tri- or dicarboxylates with MIL-100/101 topologies.

A series of nanometric isoreticular and/or functionalized analogues of the mesoporous environmentally-friendly iron(III) polycarboxylates MIL-100/101 have been successfully synthesized. Their exceptional pore size, of up to 68 Å, together with their relatively good stability in solvents, makes them promising candidates for heterogeneous catalysis or inclusion of large molecules, among others.

A lithium-organic framework with coordinatively unsaturated metal sites that reversibly binds water.

The synthesis and characterisation of a three-dimensional lithium-organic framework MIL-145 is described, which upon thermal treatment yields a second open framework, MIL-146, that contains four and three-coordinate lithium centres: the coordinatively unsaturated trigonal planar lithium centres are able to reversibly bind water with crystallinity maintained, while the dehydrated phase shows preferential adsorption of CO(2) over N(2).

Tuning the breathing behaviour of MIL-53 by cation mixing.

A mixed cation MIL-53(Cr-Fe) MOF has been obtained by direct synthesis. Multiple experimental techniques have demonstrated the presence of a genuine mixed phase, leading to a breathing behaviour different from either of the single cation analogues.

Microrheology with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

We show that fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) using a commercial spectrometer can be applied to passive microrheological (MR) experiments. The method probes the local rheological properties of materials on length scales of the focus dimension of the confocal microscope. For a feasibility study, we performed measurements on a high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide)-water solution to allow direct comparison of the results to previous studies using diffusing wave spectroscopy, quasielastic light scattering, and particle tracking methods. We were able to detect mean-square center-of-mass displacements ranging from somewhat better than [SYMBOL: SEE TEXT]2(t) approximately 100 nm2 up to above Deltar2(t) approximately 10(6) nm2. Thus, we were able to derive the bulk rheological shear moduli covering more than five decades in frequency (from omega