Materials Discovery and Crystal Growth of Zeolite A Type Zeolitic–Imidazolate Frameworks Revealed by Atomic Force Microscopy

A new zeolitic–imidazolate framework (ZIF), [Zn(imidazolate)_2?x(benzimidazolate)_x], that has the zeolite A (LTA) framework topology and contains relatively inexpensive organic linkers has been revealed using in situ atomic force microscopy. The new material was grown on the structure‐directing surface of [Zn(imidazolate)_1.5(5‐chlorobenzimidazolate)_0.5] (ZIF‐76) crystals, a metal–organic framework (MOF) that also possesses the LTA framework topology. The crystal growth processes for both [Zn(imidazolate)_2?x(benzimidazolate)_x] and ZIF‐76 were observed using in situ atomic force microscopy; it is the first time the growth process of a nanoporous material with the complex zeolite A (LTA) framework topology has been monitored temporally at the nanoscale. The results reveal the crystal growth mechanisms and possible surface terminations on the {100} and {111} facets of the materials under low supersaturation conditions. Surface growth of these structurally complex materials was found to proceed through both “birth‐and‐spread” and spiral crystal‐growth mechanisms, with the former occurring through the nucleation and spreading of metastable and stable sub‐layers reliant on the presence of non‐framework species to bridge the framework during formation. These results support the notion that the latter process may be a general mechanism of surface crystal growth applicable to numerous crystalline nanoporous materials of differing complexity and demonstrate that the methodology of seeded crystal growth can be used to discover previously unobtainable ZIFs and MOFs with desirable framework compositions.     

Crystal Growth Mechanisms and Morphological Control of the Prototypical Metal–Organic Framework MOF‐5 Revealed by Atomic Force Microscopy

Crystal growth of the metal–organic framework MOF‐5 was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) for the first time. Growth under low supersaturation conditions was found to occur by a two‐dimensional or spiral crystal growth mechanism. Observation of developing nuclei during the former reveals growth occurs through a process of nucleation and spreading of metastable and stable sub‐layers revealing that MOFs may be considered as dense phase structures in terms of crystal growth, even though they contain sub‐layers consisting of ordered framework and disordered non‐framework components. These results also support the notion this may be a general mechanism of surface crystal growth at low supersaturation applicable to crystalline nanoporous materials. The crystal growth mechanism at the atomistic level was also seen to vary as a function of the growth solution Zn/H₂bdc ratio producing square terraces with steps parallel to the <100> direction or rhombus‐shaped terraces with steps parallel to the <110> direction when the Zn/H₂bdc ratio was >1 or about 1, respectively. The change in relative growth rates can be explained in terms of changes in the solution species concentrations and their influence on growth at different terrace growth sites. These results were successfully applied to the growth of as‐synthesized cube‐shaped crystals to increase expression of the {111} faces and to grow octahedral crystals of suitable quality to image using AFM. This modulator‐free route to control the crystal morphology of MOF‐5 crystals should be applicable to a wide variety of MOFs to achieve the desired morphological control for performance enhancement in applications.     

Polycatenation‐Driven Self‐Assembly of Nanoporous Frameworks Based on a 1D Ribbon of Rings: Regular Structural Evolution,Interpenetration Transformation,and Photochemical Modification

A series of nanoporous frameworks constructed by a polycatenated isoreticular 1D ribbon of rings have been developed. The orientation of catenated ribbons can be fine tuned by varying counter anions, which allows both pore size and shape to be systematically adjusted in a pre‐synthetic process. Distinct from conventional pore construction modes in which the organic linkers are alternately connected by metal nodes into a 3D periodic arrangement, the present polycatenation approach represents an alternative for constructing soft porous materials with tunable pore metrics and functions. Furthermore, these porous structures can interconvert into each other based on an anion‐exchange process, accompanied by the transformation of the interpenetrating structures in different dimensional networks, which is unusual in porous frameworks. In addition, such a porous framework can be post‐synthetically modified by a photoinduced [2+2] cycloaddition reaction, which not only achieves the surface modification (from conjugated to non‐conjugated inner surface), but also triggers the structural transformation from low dimension to high dimension. Such a post‐modification process reinforces the pore architecture through a covalent locking effect and has a great impact on the adsorption properties.     

Crystal growth of nanoporous metal organic frameworks

Nanoporous metal organic frameworks (MOFs) form one of the newest families of crystalline nanoporous material that is receiving worldwide attention. Successful use of MOFs for application requires not only development of new materials but also a need to control their crystal properties such as size, morphology, and defect concentration. An understanding of the crystal growth processes is necessary in order to aid development of routes to control such properties of the crystallites. In this Perspective article we aim to provide a short overview of the current work and understanding concerning the nucleation and growth processes of nanoporous MOFs and how this work may be expanded upon to further our comprehension of this subject. We also focus heavily on in situ studies that provide real time information on the developing materials and generally provide the most conclusive findings on the processes under investigation.     

Controlled Synthesis of Nanoporous Nickel Oxide with Two‐Dimensional Shapes through Thermal Decomposition of Metal–Cyanide Hybrid Coordination Polymers

The urgent need for nanoporous metal oxides with highly crystallized frameworks is motivating scientists to try to discover new preparation methods, because of their wide use in practical applications. Recent work has demonstrated that two‐dimensional (2D) cyanide‐bridged coordination polymers (CPs) are promising materials and appropriate for this purpose (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.­ 2013 , 52, 1235). After calcination, 2D CPs can be transformed into nanoporous metal oxides with a highly accessible surface area. Here, this strategy is adopted in order to form 2D nanoporous nickel oxide (NiO) with tunable porosity and crystallinity, using trisodium citrate dihydrate as a controlling agent. The presence of trisodium citrate dihydrate plays a key role in the formation of 2D nanoflakes by controlling the nucleation rate and the crystal growth. The size of the nanoflakes gradually increases by augmenting the amount of trisodium citrate dihydrate in the reaction. After heating the as‐prepared CPs in air at different temperatures, nanoporous NiO can be obtained. During this thermal treatment, organic units (carbon and nitrogen) are completely removed and only the metal content remains to take part in the formation of nanoporous NiO. In the case of large‐sized 2D CP nanoflakes, the original 2D flake‐shapes are almost retained, even after thermal treatment at low temperature, but they are completely destroyed at high temperature because of further crystallization in the framework. Nanoporous NiO with high surface area shows significant efficiency and interesting results for supercapacitor application.     

Single‐Crystal‐like Nanoporous Spinel Oxides: A Strategy for Synthesis of Nanoporous Metal Oxides Utilizing Metal‐Cyanide Hybrid Coordination Polymers

Development of a new method to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with highly crystallized frameworks is of great interest because of their wide use in practical applications. Here we demonstrate a thermal decomposition of metal‐cyanide hybrid coordination polymers (CPs) to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. During the thermal treatment, the organic units (carbon and nitrogen) are completely removed, and only metal contents are retained to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. The original nanocube shapes are well‐retained even after the thermal treatment. When both Fe and Co atoms are contained in the precursors, nanoporous Fe?Co oxide with a highly oriented crystalline framework is obtained. On the other hand, when nanoporous Co oxide and Fe oxide are obtained from Co‐ and Fe‐contacting precursors, their frameworks are amorphous and/or poorly crystallized. Single‐crystal‐like nanoporous Fe?Co oxide shows a stable magnetic property at room temperature compared to poly‐crystalline metal oxides. We further extend this concept to prepare nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors. Core‐shell heterostructures consisting of different metal‐cyanide hybrid CPs are prepared first. Then the cores are dissolved by chemical etching using a hydrochloric acid solution (i.e., the cores are used as sacrificial templates), leading to the formation of hollow interiors in the nanocubes. These hollow nanocubes are also successfully converted to nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors by thermal treatment. The present approach is entirely different from the surfactant‐templating approaches that traditionally have been utilized for the preparation of mesoporous metal oxides. We believe the present work proves a new way to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with controlled crystalline frameworks and architectures.     

Size-dependent growth of polymorphs in nanopores and Ostwald's step rule of stages

More than 100 years after Ostwald postulated his step rule of stages, predictive understanding as to early crystallization stages of polymorphic materials is still premature. We studied crystallization of the polymorphic pharmaceutical acetaminophen in nanoporous glasses as a model for early stages of bulk crystallization since the surface energy significantly contributes to the total Gibbs free energy of nanosized crystals in both cases. Systematic studies of transitions between different polymorphs inside nanoporous glasses show that the thermodynamic stability of the polymorphs depends on the crystal size. Accordingly, the transient occurrence of different polymorphs during crystal growth in bulk systems can be related to surface energy contributions to the total Gibbs free energy of the developing crystals. In nanosized early-stage crystals with high surface-to-volume ratios other polymorphs may be stable than in large crystals with low surface-to-volume ratios. Improved control of the crystallization of polymorphic materials by imposing well-defined confinement is a promising strategy to tailor release of polymorphic drugs and to optimize optical, electronic, magnetic and ferroelectric properties of polymorphic materials.     

多孔纳米CoFe2O4的制备及其对高氯酸铵的热分解催化性能

采用胶晶模板法制备出具有三维多孔结构的纳米CoFe₂O₄。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外(FT-IR)光谱仪、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)和N₂吸附-脱附对样品的晶型和形貌结构等进行表征,采用差示扫描量热法(DSC)对比研究多孔纳米CoFe₂O₄和球形纳米CoFe₂O₄对高氯酸铵(AP)的热分解性能的影响,并考察这两种催化剂对AP催化热分解的动力学参数。结果显示,制备出的多孔纳米CoFe₂O₄样品具有典型的尖晶石结构,孔径约200 nm;比表面积明显高于40 nm球形CoFe₂O₄,达到55.646 m²·g^-1。DSC测试结果表明：多孔纳米CoFe₂O₄的加入促进了AP的热分解,最高使AP的高温分解峰温降低91.46℃,能量释放最高达1120.88 J·g^-1,是纯AP分解放热量的2.3倍;多孔纳米CoFe₂O₄具有较高的比表面积,能提高催化反应的接触面积,使AP的高温分解峰温度更低,反应活化能较小,从而表现出比球形纳米CoFe₂O₄更高的催化活性。此外,对多孔纳米CoFe₂O₄催化AP的热分解机理进行初步探索,纳米多孔催化剂对气态中间产物的作用促进了AP的热分解。     

Site characteristics in metal organic frameworks for gas adsorption

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new class of nanoporous materials that have many potential advantages over traditional nanoporous materials for several chemical technologies including gas adsorption, catalysis, membrane-based gas separation, sensing, and biomedical devices. Knowledge on the interaction of guest molecules with the MOF surface is required to design and develop these MOF-based processes. In this review, we examine the importance of identification of gas adsorption sites in MOFs using the current state-of-the-art in experiments and computational modeling. This review provides guidelines to design new MOFs with useful surface properties that exhibit desired performances, such as high gas storage capacity, and high gas selectivity.     

Nanoporous Carbon Tubes from Fullerene Crystals as the π‐Electron Carbon Source

Here we report the thermal conversion of one‐dimensional (1D) fullerene (C₆₀) single‐crystal nanorods and nanotubes to nanoporous carbon materials with retention of the initial 1D morphology. The 1D C₆₀ crystals are heated directly at very high temperature (up to 2000 °C) in vacuum, yielding a new family of nanoporous carbons having π‐electron conjugation within the sp²‐carbon robust frameworks. These new nanoporous carbon materials show excellent electrochemical capacitance and superior sensing properties for aromatic compounds compared to commercial activated carbons.     

Ab initio parametrized MM3 force field for the metal-organic framework MOF-5

A new valence force field has been developed and validated for a particular class of coordination polymers known as nanoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), introduced recently by the group of Yaghi. The experimental, structural, and spectroscopic data in combination with density functional theory calculations on several model systems were used to parametrize the bonded terms of the force field, which explicitly treats the metal-oxygen interactions as partially covalent as well as distinguishes different types of oxygens in the framework. Both the experimental crystal structure of MOF-5 and vibrational infrared spectrum are reproduced reasonably well. The proposed force field is believed to be useful in atomistic simulations of adsorption/diffusion of guest molecules inside the flexible pores of this important class of MOF materials.     

Synthesis of nanoporous metal oxides through the self-assembly of phloroglucinol-formaldehyde resol and tri-block copolymer

A versatile route to synthesize nanoporous crystalline metal oxides has been developed through the self-assembly of phloroglucinol-formaldehyde resol and tri-block copolymer templates. Materials were characterized by a complementary combination of X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, and transmission electron microscopy. Metal oxides synthesized using this route have remarkably high surface area when compared with the commercial samples. The surface area of metal oxides decreased upon calcination at higher temperatures. However, the surface area was still much higher when compared with the commercial samples. TEM investigation reveals that upon calcination at higher temperature, the size of the crystal increased but the short range order was merely disturbed. The analyses show that the present method is suitable as a direct route to synthesize crystalline nanoporous metal oxides. Hydrogen bonding plays a key role in the preferential arrangement of porous metal-carbon structure in the domain of tri-block copolymer. The nanoporous metal oxides with ordered mesoporous structure, high surface area, and crystalline framework are expected to show significant improvement in catalysis and nano-technology.     

The options of interference microscopy to explore the significance of intracrystalline diffusion and surface permeation for overall mass transfer on nanoporous materials

After a short introduction into interference microscopy and its potentials in monitoring transient concentration profiles in nanoporous materials, we concentrate on the special options of an analysis of these profiles close to the crystal surfaces. We shall in particular introduce a novel route of correlating the overall uptake, at a certain instant of time, with the current boundary concentration. In this way, the significance of surface resistances to overall molecular uptake may be most vividly demonstrated. Considering a large variety of nanoporous host-guest systems, including methanol in zeolites ferrierite, methanol in MOF Manganese(II)-formate and methanol in SAPO STA-7, quite different patterns of surface resistivities may be observed. A generalized analysis is complicated by the fact that both the diffusivities and the surface permeabilities are found to notably depend on the actual concentration. As a consequence, for one and the same system and over identical pressure steps, the relative contributions of diffusion and surface permeation to the overall process may be quite different for desorption and adsorption.     

Osmotic ensemble methods for predicting adsorption-induced structural transitions in nanoporous materials using molecular simulations

Osmotic framework adsorbed solution theory is a useful molecular simulation method to predict the evolution of structural transitions upon adsorption of guest molecules in flexible nanoporous solids. One challenge with previous uses of this approach has been the estimation of free energy differences between the solid phases of interest in the absence of adsorbed molecules. Here we demonstrate that these free energy differences can be calculated without reference to experimental data via the vibrational density of states of each phase, a quantity that can be obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. We show the applicability of this method through case studies of the swelling behaviors of two representative systems in which swelling upon adsorption of water is of importance: single-walled aluminosilicate nanotube bundles and cesium montmorillonite. The resulting predictions show that the aluminosilicate nanotube bundles swell significantly with increasing interstitial adsorption and that the layer spacing of cesium montmorillonite expands up to about 12.5 A?, giving good agreement with experiments. The method is applicable to a wide range of flexible nanoporous materials, such as zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, and layered oxide materials, when candidate structures can be defined and a force field to describe the material is available.     

Towards Vaporized Molecular Discrimination: A Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) Sensor System Using Cobalt‐Containing Mesoporous Graphitic Carbon

A recent study on nanoporous carbon based materials (J. Am. Chem. Soc.­ 2012 , 134, 2864) showed that the presence of abundant graphitized sp² carbon species in the frameworks led to higher affinity for aromatic hydrocarbons than their aliphatic analogues. Herein, improved understanding of the sensitive and selective detection of aromatic substances by using mesoporous carbon (MPC)‐based materials, combined with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor system, was obtained. MPCs were synthesized by direct carbonization of mesoporous polymers prepared from resol through a soft templating approach with Pluronic F127. The carbon‐based frameworks can be graphitized through the addition of a cobalt source to the precursor solution, according to the catalytic activity of the cobalt nanoparticles formed during the carbonization process. From the Raman data, the degree of the graphitization was clearly increased by increasing the cobalt content and elevating the carbonization temperature. From a QCM study, it was proved that the highly graphitized MPCs exhibited a higher affinity for aromatic hydrocarbons than their aliphatic analogues. By increasing the degree of graphitization in the carbon‐based pore walls, the MPCs showed both larger adsorption uptake and faster sensor response towards toxic benzene and toluene vapors.     

Accelerating Membrane‐based CO2 Separation by Soluble Nanoporous Polymer Networks Produced by Mechanochemical Oxidative Coupling

Achieving homogeneous dispersion of nanoporous fillers within membrane architectures remains a great challenge for mixed‐matrix membrane (MMMs) technology. Imparting solution processability of nanoporous materials would help advance the development of MMMs for membrane‐based gas separations. A mechanochemically assisted oxidative coupling polymerization strategy was used to create a new family of soluble nanoporous polymer networks. The solid‐state ball‐milling method affords inherent molecular weight control over polymer growth and therefore provides unexpected solubility for the resulting nanoporous frameworks. MMM‐based CO₂/CH₄ separation performance was significantly accelerated by these new soluble fillers. We anticipate this facile method will facilitate new possibilities for the rational design and synthesis of soluble nanoporous polymer networks and promote their applications in membrane‐based gas separations.     

Bio-Templated Chiral Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Enantioselective Chemoresistive Sensing

Chiral metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained rising attention as ordered nanoporous materials for enantiomer separations, chiral catalysis, and sensing. Among those, chiral MOFs are generally obtained through complex synthetic routes by using a limited choice of reactive chiral organic precursors as the primary linkers or auxiliary ligands. Here, we report a template-controlled synthesis of chiral MOFs from achiral precursors grown on chiral nematic cellulose-derived nanostructured bio-templates. We demonstrate that chiral MOFs, specifically, zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF), unc -[Zn(2-MeIm)₂, 2-MeIm=2-methylimidazole], can be grown from regular precursors within nanoporous organized chiral nematic nanocelluloses via directed assembly on twisted bundles of cellulose nanocrystals. The template-grown chiral ZIF possesses tetragonal crystal structure with chiral space group of P4₁, which is different from traditional cubic crystal structure of I-43 m for freely grown conventional ZIF-8. The uniaxially compressed dimensions of the unit cell of templated ZIF and crystalline dimensions are signatures of this structure. We observe that the templated chiral ZIF can facilitate the enantiotropic sensing. It shows enantioselective recognition and chiral sensing abilities with a low limit of detection of 39 μM and the corresponding limit of chiral detection of 300 μM for representative chiral amino acid, D- and L- alanine.     

Supramolecular Interactions and Morphology Control in Microwave Synthesis of Nanoporous Materials

Application of a microwave technique to the conventional hydrothermal process is gaining importance, especially, in the synthesis of nanoporous materials. This microwave technique is regarded as a novel synthesis tool because it gives several beneficial advantages such as homogeneous nucleation, rapid synthesis, formation of uniform crystals, and small crystallites, facile morphology control, energy efficiency and so on. Recently, it was found that it offers an efficient way to control the crystal morphology, size and orientation, and even crystalline phase which are required for many emerging applications of nanoporous materials. This review summarizes recent work on the microwave effect, supramolecular interactions and control of crystal morphology upon microwave synthesis of nanoporous materials performed by the present authors. Synthesis and morphology control of nanoporous materials such as ZSM-5, zeolite beta, metallosilicates, AlPO, MCM-41, SBA-15, SBA-16, etc. have been accomplished with microwave irradiation. In particular, the rapid nucleation and crystallization of ZSM-5 zeolite under microwave irradiation made it possible to enable the continuous microwave synthesis, implying a great industrial and technological importance. The formation of nanoporous materials, especially, silicate or aluminosilicate molecular sieves was described on the basis of supramolecular interactions between organic template molecules and silicate species under microwave irradiation. Besides decreasing synthesis time, it was duly demonstrated that the microwave technique provides an effective way to control particle size distribution and macroscopic morphology in the synthesis. Moreover, for the application of these porous materials, microwave-induced nanofabrication of microporous and mesoporous materials is more important than that of simple porous materials.     

Syntheses, properties and applications of periodic mesoporous organosilicas prepared from bridged organosilane precursors

Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) prepared by surfactant-directed polycondensation of bridged organosilane precursors are promising for a variety of next-generation functional materials, because their large surface areas, well-defined nanoporous structures and the structural diversity of organosilica frameworks are advantageous for functionalization. This critical review highlights the unique structural features of PMOs and their expanding potential applications. Since the early reports of PMOs in 1999, various synthetic approaches, including the selection of hydrolytic reaction conditions, development of new precursor compounds, design of templates and the use of co-condensation or grafting techniques, have enabled the hierarchical structural control of PMOs from molecular- and meso-scale structures to macroscopic morphology. The introduction of functional organic units, such as highly fluorescent π-conjugates and electroactive species, into the PMO framework has opened a new path for the development of fluorescent systems, sensors, charge-transporting materials and solid-state catalysts. Moreover, a combinational materials design approach to the organosilica frameworks, pore wall surfaces and internal parts of mesopores has led to novel luminescent and photocatalytic systems. Their advanced functions have been realized by energy and electron transfer from framework organics to guest molecules or catalytic centers. PMOs, in which the precise design of hierarchical structures and construction of multi-component systems are practicable, have a significant future in a new field of functional materials (93 references).     

Anion influence on the structures of a series of copper(II) metal-organic frameworks

The main aim of the work herein presented is to investigate the influence of different anions on the overall structure of a series of metal-organic frameworks. The reactions between CuCl2, Cu(OAc)2, and CuSO4 and the two bipyridylurea ligands L1 and L2 [L1 = 1,3-bis(pyridin-4-ylmethyl)urea; L2 = 1,3-bis(pyridin-3-ylmethyl)urea; see Scheme 1 in paper] have been carried out and the crystal structure of five of the resulting metal-organic assemblies determined. These crystal structures have shown that the geometry and size of the corresponding anions together with their coordinating and hydrogen-bonding properties are essential in determining the final structures of the assemblies. Particularly interesting, because of their potential as nanoporous materials, are the assemblies obtained from the reaction between each of the two ligands (L1 and L2) and CuCl2, which yield noninterpenetrating 2D metal-organic layers made of squares of ca. 15 x 15 Angstroms. These layers stack on top of each other, producing infinite 3D channels filled with solvent molecules. The thermal stabilities of the five metal-organic frameworks prepared have been studied by means of thermogravimetric analysis. Preliminary X-ray powder diffraction studies of one of these metal-organic frameworks indicate that upon heating the assembly changes to a different crystalline structure. Interestingly, the original structure reforms upon exposure of this sample to traces of water.