Engineering of the Filler/Polymer Interface in Metal–Organic Framework‐Based Mixed‐Matrix Membranes to Enhance Gas Separation

Traditional films cannot fully adapt to industrial applications and to intensified processes. Advanced mixed‐matrix membranes comprising metal–organic frameworks (MOF) embedded in a polymer matrix have been developed with the goal of breaking the trade‐off effect of traditional polymer membranes and achieving separation performance beyond Robeson's upper limit. The key challenges in the fabrication of MOF‐based mixed‐matrix membranes are an enhancement in compatibility between the inorganic filler and the polymer matrix, elimination of the irregular morphology and non‐selective interfacial defects, and further improvement in the gas‐separation performance. This review summarizes the recent advances in protocols and strategies in terms of designing interfacial interactions to enhance the MOF/polymer interface compatibility. This review aims at providing some meaningful insights into preparing MOF‐based mixed‐matrix membranes targeting ideal interfacial morphology and leading to excellent gas‐separation performance.     

基于金属有机骨架材料固定相的气相色谱分离应用

金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是一类由有机配体和金属离子(或金属簇)自组装形成的新型多功能材料。MOFs具有孔隙度高、比表面积大、孔径可调、化学和热稳定性高等特点,被广泛应用于吸附、分离、催化等多个领域。近年来,MOFs作为新型气相色谱固定相用于分离异构体受到了广泛关注。与传统无机多孔材料相比,MOFs在结构和功能上展现出高度的可调性,通过合理地选择配体和金属中心,可以设计合成具有不同孔道大小和孔道环境的MOFs,从而分别从热力学和动力学角度优化色谱分离效果,有效提高分离选择性。该文结合MOFs的结构,讨论了MOFs气相色谱固定相分离不同类型分析物的分离机理。分离机理主要包括MOFs孔道的分子筛效应或形状选择性,MOFs不饱和的金属位点与分析物中不同的官能团之间产生的相互作用,分析物与MOFs孔道之间产生的不同范德华力、π-π相互作用和氢键相互作用。此外,MOFs的手性分离可能主要依赖于外消旋体与手性MOFs中手性活性位点之间的相互作用。该文也对不同分析目标物进行了归类,综述了多种MOFs气相色谱固定相对烷烃、二甲苯异构体和乙基甲苯、外消旋体、含氧有机物、环境有机污染物的气相色谱分离效果。最后,该文还对MOFs在该领域的应用进行了总结与展望,旨在为MOFs气相色谱高效分离的研究提供参考。     

Design,Preparation and Application of a New π‐Basic Chiral Stationary Phase for the Liquid Chromatographic Separation of Enantiomers

A new reciprocal π‐basic chiral stationary phase (CSP) was designed based on the reciprocity conception of chiral recognition and prepared starting from (S)‐leucine. The CSP thus prepared was applied in resolving various π‐acidic N‐(3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl)‐α‐amino amides and esters and found to be very effective. Especially, N‐(3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl)‐α‐amino N,N‐dialkyl amides were resolved very well on the new reciprocal CSP. From the chromatographic resolution results and based on the reciprocity conception of chiral recognition with the aid of Corey/Pauling/Koltan (CPK) molecular model studies, a chiral recognition mechanism which utilizes π‐π interaction and simultaneously two hydrogen bonding interactions between the CSP and the analyte has been proposed. The CSP prepared in this study was also successful in resolving 3,5‐dinitrophenylcarbamate derivatives of 2‐hydroxycarboxylic acid esters.     

Microporous Metal–Organic Frameworks for Gas Separation

Microporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are comparatively new porous materials. Because the pores within such MOFs can be readily tuned through the interplay of both metal‐containing clusters and organic linkers to induce their size‐selective sieving effects, while the pore surfaces can be straightforwardly functionalized to enforce their different interactions with gas molecules, MOF materials are very promising for gas separation. Furthermore, the high porosities of such materials can enable microporous MOFs with optimized gas separation selectivity and capacity to be targeted. This Focus Review highlights recent significant advances in microporous MOFs for gas separation.     

A Porous Zirconium‐Based Metal‐Organic Framework with the Potential for the Separation of Butene Isomers

By using a novel C₃‐symmetrical tricarboxylate (4,4′,4′′‐benzene‐1,3,5‐triyl‐1,1′,1′′‐trinaphthoic acid), a novel zirconium‐based metal‐organic framework ZJNU‐30 was solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Single‐crystal X‐ray structural analyses show that ZJNU‐30 consists of Zr₆‐based nodes connected by the organic linkers to form a (3,8)‐connected network featuring the coexistence of two different polyhedral cages: octahedral and cuboctahedral cages with the dimensions of about 14 and 22 Å, respectively. Remarkably, ZJNU‐30 is very stable when exposed to air for one month. More importantly, with a moderately high surface area, hierarchical pore structures, and an aromatic‐rich pore surface in the framework, ZJNU‐30 , after activation, exhibits a promising potential for the selective adsorptive separation of industrially important butene isomers consisting of cis‐2‐butene, trans‐2‐butene, 1‐butene, and iso‐butene at ambient temperature. This separation was established exclusively by gas adsorption isotherms and simulated breakthrough experiments. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating porous metal‐organic frameworks for butene‐isomer separation.     

Cyclocholates as Chiral Selectors for Capillary Gas Chromatography – Effect of Temperature Conditioning on the Chromatographic Behavior of the Stationary Phase

The suitability of cyclocholates as chiral selectors in gas chromatography has been evaluated. We present the synthesis and characterization of two cyclocholates, viz. 3α,7α-diacetoxycyclo[3]cholate and 3α,7α-diacetoxycylo[4]cholate. Mixtures of these new selectors with polysiloxanes were tested as chiral stationary phases in capillary gas chromatography. Several enantiomer separations of common racemates were achieved with the 3α,7α-diacetoxycyclo[3]cholate at 10% in OV-1701 (w/w). It was shown that column efficiency was strongly dependent on temperature and that enantioselectivity was very sensitive to column conditioning. This chromatographic behavior suggested that cyclocholates were only dispersed in polysiloxane. Thus, it was assumed that chiral discrimination occurred via enantioselective adsorption interactions of enantiomers at the surface of the solid chiral selector dispersed in the polysiloxane matrix OV-1701.     

Modulating the Biofunctionality of Metal–Organic‐Framework‐Encapsulated Enzymes through Controllable Embedding Patterns

Embedding an enzyme within a MOF as exoskeleton (enzyme@MOF) offers new opportunities to improve the inherent fragile nature of the enzyme, but also to impart novel biofunctionality to the MOF. Despite the remarkable stability achieved for MOF‐embedded enzymes, embedding patterns and conversion of the enzymatic biofunctionality after entrapment by a MOF have only received limited attention. Herein, we reveal how embedding patterns affect the bioactivity of an enzyme encapsulated in ZIF‐8. The enzyme@MOF can maintain high activity when the encapsulation process is driven by rapid enzyme‐triggered nucleation of ZIF‐8. When the encapsulation is driven by slow coprecipitation and the enzymes are not involved in the nucleation of ZIF‐8, enzyme@MOF tends to be inactive owing to unfolding and competing coordination caused by the ligand, 2‐methyl imidazole. These two embedding patterns can easily be controlled by chemical modification of the amino acids of the enzymes, modulating their biofunctionality.     

Ultrathin Chiral Metal–Organic‐Framework Nanosheets for Efficient Enantioselective Separation

Chiral metal–organic framework (CMOF) nanosheets only a few layers thick remain a virgin land waiting for exploration. Herein, the first examples of ultrathin CMOF nanosheets are prepared by the confinement growth of two‐dimensional (2D) chiral layers, which are assembled by helical metal–organic chains within microemulsion. This convenient and easily scaled up inverse microemulsion method gives a series of 2D CMOF nanosheets composed of variable metal nodes or chiral ligands. More significantly, thanks to the exceptionally large number of chiral sites exposed on surfaces, the as‐obtained CMOF nanosheets exhibit much higher enantioselectivity in chiral separation compared with their bulk counterparts.     

Chiral Metal–Organic Framework Hollow Nanospheres for High‐Efficiency Enantiomer Separation

Chiral ZIF‐8 hollow nanospheres with d ‐histidine as part of chiral ligands (denoted as H‐d ‐his‐ZIF‐8) were prepared for separation of (±)‐amine acids. Compared to bulk d ‐his‐ZIF‐8 without a hollow cavity, the prepared H‐d ‐his‐ZIF‐8 showed 15 times higher separation capacity and higher ee values of 90.5 % for alanine, 95.2 % for glutamic acid and 92.6 % for lysine, respectively.     

气相色谱手性固定相研究进展

本文评述了气相色谱手性分离的发展过程,介绍了氨基酸、二肽、金属配合物、环糊精、多糖、手性离子液体、环肽、键合以及交联类气相色谱手性固定相以及各类型的拆分机理,展望了气相色谱手性固定相的研究前景。     

气相色谱手性固定相研究进展

本文评述了气相色谱手性分离的发展过程,介绍了氨基酸、二肽、金属配合物、环糊精、多糖、手性离子液体、环肽、键合以及交联类气相色谱手性固定相以及各类型的拆分机理,展望了气相色谱手性固定相的研究前景.     

Metal–Organic‐Framework‐Templated Polyelectrolyte Nanocapsules for the Encapsulation and Delivery of Small‐Molecule–Polymer Conjugates

Herein, we report a strategy for exploiting nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (nano‐MOFs) as templates for the layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolytes. Because small‐molecule drugs or imaging agents cannot be efficiently encapsulated by polyelectrolyte nanocapsules, we investigated two promising and biocompatible polymers (comb‐shaped polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hyperbranched polyglycerol‐based PEG) for the conjugation of model drugs and imaging agents, which were then encapsulated inside the nano‐MOF‐templated nanocapsules. Furthermore, we also systemically explored the release kinetics of the encapsulated conjugates, and examined how the encapsulation and/or release processes could be controlled by varying the composition and architecture of the polymers. We envision that our nano‐MOFs‐templated nanocapsules, through combining with small‐molecule–polymer conjugates, will represent a new type of delivery system that could open up new opportunities for biomedical applications.     

Selective Separation of Isomeric Dicarboxylic Acid by the Preferable Crystallization of Metal‐Organic Frameworks

Simple and effective separation of isomeric organic molecules is an important but challenging task. Herein, we successfully developed a selective crystallization strategy to separate the mixtures of isomeric dicarboxylic acids (DCAs) for the first time. The target DCAs could be preferably combined with crystallization inducer of Zr⁴⁺ ions to form a pre‐designed metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) crystal structure whereas the entry of non‐target isomeric DACs into the MOFs lattice could be exclusively inhibited. Several isomeric pairs were exemplified to verify the extensibility and validity of the developed strategy.     

A Novel Hybrid Metal–Organic Framework–Polymeric Monolith for Solid‐Phase Microextraction

This study describes the fabrication of a novel hybrid metal–organic framework– organic polymer (MOF–polymer) for use as a stationary phase in fritless solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) for validating analytical methods. The MOF–polymer was prepared by using ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), and an imidazolium‐based ionic liquid as porogenic solvent followed by microwave‐assisted polymerization with the addition of 25 % MOF. This novel hybrid MOF–polymer was used to extract penicillin (penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin, cloxacillin, nafcillin, dicloxacillin) under different conditions. Quantitative analysis of the extracted penicillin samples using the MOF–organic polymer for SPME was conducted by using capillary electrochromatography (CEC) coupled with UV analysis. The penicillin recovery was 63–96.2 % with high reproducibility, sensitivity, and reusability. The extraction time with the proposed fabricated SPME was only 34 min.     

Defect‐Free Mixed‐Matrix Membranes with Hydrophilic Metal‐Organic Polyhedra for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Separation

Defect‐free mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by incorporating hydrophilic metal‐organic polyhedra (MOPs) into cross‐linked polyethylene oxide (XLPEO) for efficient CO₂ separation. Hydrophilic MOPs with triethylene glycol pendant groups, which were assembled by 5‐tri(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether isophthalic acid and Cu^II ions, were uniformly dispersed in XLPEO without particle agglomeration. Compared to conventional neat XLPEO, the homogenous dispersion of EG₃‐MOPs in XLPEO enhanced CO₂ permeability of MMMs. Upon increasing the amount of EG₃‐MOPs, the membrane performance such as CO₂/N₂ selectivity was steadily improved because of unsaturated Cu^II sites at paddle‐wheel units, which was confirmed by Cu K‐edge XANES and TPD analysis. Therefore, such defect‐free MMMs with unsaturated metal sites would contribute to enhance CO₂ separation performance.     

手性金属-有机骨架[Cu_3(HL)_2(L)_2(bpy)_3]·4H_2O用于高效液相色谱拆分手性化合物

手性金属-有机骨架材料(MOFs)作为一种新型多孔材料,由于具有比表面积大、结构多样、孔尺寸可调和化学稳定性良好等特点,而备受色谱分离领域的关注。该文以(1R,2R)-1,2-环己烷二甲酸(H2L)和4,4'-联吡啶(bpy)为配体与铜离子反应,通过溶剂热法合成了一种具有二维手性网状结构的手性MOF[Cu_3(HL)_2(L)_2(bpy)_3]·4H_2O。将该手性MOF作为手性固定相制备了高效液相色谱柱。为了考察MOF[Cu_3(HL)_2(L)_2(bpy)_3]·4H_2O的手性识别能力,在正相色谱(流动相:正己烷-异丙醇)条件下,对一系列外消旋化合物在手性MOF柱上进行了拆分。该手性MOF柱对醇类、酮类、酸类、环氧化合物和醚类等10种手性化合物表现出较好的拆分效果。对该手性MOF柱的重现性、稳定性作了评价,考察了进样量对分离效果的影响,结果表明该手性MOF柱具有较好的重现性和稳定性。     

各种氨基酸衍生物在Chirasil—Val固定相上的气相色谱分离

本文叙述氨基酸及其对映体的全氟酰基烷基脂(O-异丙基、-异丁基、-正丁基;N(O,S)-三氟乙酰基,TFA、-七氟丁酰基,HFB)在Chirasil-Val上的洗脱特性。随烷基取代增大,保留时间增加;用HFB代替TFA,对映体的分离因子降低。此外,DL-氨基酸与另丁醇衍生,生成的对映及非对映衍生物在Chirasil-Val上可拆分成四个色谱峰。     

手性酰胺聚硅氧烷固定相的制备与气相色谱性能

以L-苯丙氨酸,L-缬氨酸为手性源,合成了二种含末端烯基,具有刚性苯基链节的新型手性酰胺单体;并通过硅氢加成方法将其接枝到含氢硅油上,制备了两种新型手性酰胺聚硅氧烷固定相.这一新方法具有简单易行,各步产率较高的优点,所制备的手性固定相具有较好的毛细管柱色谱性能.手性拆分能力和耐温性.     

3D Enantiomorphic Mg‐Based Metal–Organic Frameworks as Chemical Sensor of Nitrobenzene and Efficient Catalyst for CO2 Cycloaddition

Two enantiomorphic Mg^II‐based metal‐organic frameworks, {MgL(H₂O)₂}_n ( 1‐D and 1‐L ) (where H₂L=2,2′‐bipyridyl‐4,4′‐dicarboxylic acid) have been synthesized by solvothermal reaction without any chiral auxiliary. The single‐crystal X‐ray measurement and the structural analysis indicate that both 1‐D and 1‐L possess 2‐fold interpenetrated frameworks with different left‐ and right‐handed helical chains simultaneously, which serve as chiral source, thus transmitting chirality over the whole frameworks. The fluorescence measurements reveal that they exhibit a strong quenching response to nitrobenzene and could be potentially used as a chemical sensor. Owing to the accessible Lewis acidic sites in channels, they display high catalytic efficiency for cycloaddition reaction of CO₂ with epoxides and could be reused five times without losing activity.