High-throughput and time-resolved energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) study of the formation of CAU-1-(OH)2: microwave and conventional heating

Aluminium dihydroxyterephthalate [Al₈(OH)₄(OCH₃)₈(BDC(OH)₂)₆] ? x H₂O (denoted CAU‐1‐(OH)₂) was synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction, IR spectroscopy, sorption measurements, as well as thermogravimetric and elemental analysis. CAU‐1‐(OH)₂ is isoreticular to CAU‐1 and its pores are lined with OH groups. It is stable under ambient conditions and in water, and it exhibits permanent porosity and two types of cavities with effective diameters of approximately 1 and 0.45 nm. The crystallization of CAU‐1‐(OH)₂ was studied by in situ energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction (EDXRD) experiments in the 120–145 °C temperature range. Two heating methods—conventional and microwave—were investigated. The latter leads to shorter induction periods as well as shorter reaction times. Whereas CAU‐1‐(OH)₂ is formed at all investigated temperatures using conventional heating, it is only observed below 130 °C using microwave heating. The calculation of the activation energy of the crystallization of CAU‐1‐(OH)₂ exhibits similar values for microwave and conventional synthesis.     

Assembly of the first fullerene-type metal-organic frameworks using a planar five-fold coordination node

Pump up the volume: Slow crystallization of Na[C(5) (CN)(5) ], the unsolvated sodium salt of pentacyanocyclopentadienide, gives the first example of an anionic coordination network based on metal-fullerene units. The structure of this network is closely related to a type?I gas clathrate in which around 66?% of the unit cell volume is occupied by solvent molecules.     

A highly porous metal-organic framework: structural transformations of a guest-free MOF depending on activation method and temperature

A doubly interpenetrating porous metal–organic framework ( SNU‐77 ) has been synthesized from the solvothermal reaction of the extended carboxylic acid tris(4′‐carboxybiphenyl)amine (H₃TCBPA) and Zn(NO₃)₂ ? 6H₂O in N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMA). SNU‐77 undergoes single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal transformations during various activation processes, such as room‐temperature evacuation, supercritical CO₂ drying, and high temperature evacuation, to afford SNU‐77R , SNU‐77S , and SNU‐77H , respectively. These guest‐free MOFs exhibited different fine structures with different window shapes and different effective window sizes at room temperature. Variable‐temperature synchrotron single‐crystal X‐ray analyses reveal that the guest‐free structure is also affected by changes in temperature. Despite the different fine structures, SNU‐77R , SNU‐77S , and SNU‐77H show similar gas sorption properties due to the nonbreathing nature of the framework and an additional structural change upon cooling to cryogenic gas sorption temperature. SNU‐77H exhibits a large surface area (BET, 3670 m² g^?1), a large pore volume (1.52 cm³ g^?1), and exceptionally high uptake capacities for N₂, H₂, O₂, CO₂, and CH₄ gases.     

Reversible transformation of ZnII coordination geometry in a single crystal of porous metal-organic framework [Zn3(ntb)2(EtOH)2].4 EtOH

A 3D porous metal-organic framework [Zn3(ntb)2(EtOH)2]n.4nEtOH (1) that generates 1D channels of honeycomb aperture has been prepared by the solvothermal reaction of Zn(NO3)(2).6 H2O and 4,4',4'-nitrilotrisbenzoic acid (H3NTB) in EtOH at 110 degrees C. Framework 1 exhibits reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations upon removal and rebinding of the coordinating EtOH as well as the EtOH guest molecules, which give rise to desolvated crystal [Zn3(ntb)2]n (1') and resolvated crystal [Zn3(ntb)2-(EtOH)2]n.4nEtOH (1'). The X-ray structures indicate that 3D host framework is retained during the transformations from 1 to 1' and from 1' to 1', but the coordination geometry of ZnII ions changes from/to trigonal bipyramid to/from tetrahedron, concomitant with the rotational rearrangement of a carboxylate plane of the NTB3- relative to its associated phenyl ring. To retain the single crystal integrity, extensive cooperative motions must exist between the molecular components throughout the crystal. Framework 1' exhibits permanent porosity, thermal stability up to 400 degrees C, and blue luminescence, and high storage capabilities for N2, H2, CO2, and CH4.     

Structure and charge control in metal-organic frameworks based on the tetrahedral ligand tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane

Use of the tetrahedral ligand tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane enabled isolation of two three-dimensional metal-organic frameworks featuring 4,6- and 4,8-connected nets related to the structures of garnet and fluorite with the formulae Mn(6)(ttpm)(3)5 DMF3 H(2)O (1) and Cu[(Cu(4)Cl)(ttpm)(2)](2)CuCl(2)5 DMF11 H(2)O (2) (H(4)ttpm=tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane). The fluorite-type solid 2 displays an unprecedented post-synthetic transformation in which the negative charge of the framework is reduced by extraction of copper(II) chloride. Desolvation of this compound generates Cu(4)(ttpm)(2)0.7 CuCl(2) (2 d), a microporous material exhibiting a high surface area and significant hydrogen uptake.     

Fast Nucleation and Growth of ZIF-8 Nanocrystals Monitored by Time-Resolved In Situ Small-Angle and Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Prenucleation clusters: In?situ synchrotron X-ray scattering with a one-second time resolution revealed the occurrence of nano-sized clusters during the nucleation and early growth of nanocrystals of a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF). The complex crystallization process exhibits similarities with crystallization processes of zeolites from solution. Hmim= 2-methylimidazole.