Computational Design of Hybrid Frameworks: Structure and Energetics of Two Me3OF3{‐O2C‐C6H4‐CO2‐}3 Metal‐Dicarboxylate Polymorphs,MIL‐hypo‐1 and MIL‐hypo‐2

The present paper aims at exploring the candidate hybrid structures of the Cr/trimesic acid system by assembling pre‐defined hybrid building‐blocks in direct space. Two possible hybrid building‐blocks were identified where the connection of the 1, 4 BDC molecules to an inorganic metal‐containing trimer forms a large supertetrahedron (ST) or alternatively a large supercube (SC). From existing topologies derived from the space filling packing of corner‐sharing cubes and tetrahedra, two candidates hybrid crystal structures were constructed. Lattice energy minimizations were performed on each candidate structure, as a preliminary step towards the estimation of their relative stabilities. This work further illustrates the computational design of very open hybrid frameworks using the concept of pre‐defined building blocks and their assembly in 3D space.     

Machine learning accelerated high-throughput screening of zeolites for the selective adsorption of xylene isomers

The production of widely used polymers such as polyester currently relies upon the chemical separation of and transformation of xylene isomers. The least valuable but most prevalent isomer is meta-xylene which can be selectively transformed into the more useful and expensive para-xylene isomer using a zeolite catalyst but at a high energy cost. In this work, high-throughput screening of existing and hypothetical zeolite databases containing more than two million structures was performed, using a combination of classical simulation and deep neural network methods to identify promising materials for selective adsorption of meta-xylene. Novel anomaly detection techniques were applied to the heavily biased classification task of identifying structures with a selectivity greater than that of the best performing existing zeolite, ZSM-5 (MFI topology). Eight hypothetical zeolite topologies are found to be several orders of magnitude more selective towards meta-xylene than ZSM-5 which may provide an impetus for synthetic efforts to realise these promising materials. Moreover, the leading hypothetical frameworks identified from the screening procedure require a markedly lower operating temperature to achieve the diffusion seen in existing materials, suggesting significant energetic savings if the frameworks can be realised.

A combination of machine learning and high throughput simulation has identified several potential zeolite structures that appear to outperform the leading commercially used material and explained the key factors for high selectivity.     

From Double‐Four‐Ring Germanosilicates to New Zeolites: In Silico Investigation

To date, the majority of zeolites have been prepared by the solvothermal route using organic structure directing agents. Two new zeolites with structural codes PCR and OKO were recently prepared from UTL germanosilicate by removal of the double‐four ring (D4R) connecting the dense two‐dimensional layers [Nature Chem. 2013 , 5, 628]. The corresponding experimental protocol, Assembly–Disassembly–Organization–Reassembly (ADOR), is explored in this contribution with an in silico investigation. The structure and properties of hypothetical zeolites that could be obtained from zeolites with IWW, IWV, IWR, ITR, and ITH topologies using the ADOR protocol are reported based on a computational investigation. A total of 20 new structures are presented together with their characteristics.     

PKU-5: an aluminoborate with novel octahedral framework topology

A new anhydrous aluminoborate Al4B6O15 (PKU-5) has been synthesized in a boric acid flux in a closed system at 350 degrees C. PKU-5, which crystallizes in the space group R3 with the lattice constants a=11.43398(9) and c=6.48307(5) A, consists of Al octahedra and triangularly coordinated boron. The Al octahedron adopts the (10,3)-a network, in which each octahedron shares three edges with the neighboring octahedra forming ten-membered-ring channels. The octahedral backbone in PKU-5 can be considered as a primary octahedral framework topology and, setting out from the structures of the aluminoborates (PKU-1 and PKU-5), we propose construction rules for the octahedral frameworks. There are two types of connections for edge-sharing octahedra in porous frameworks, trans and cis type, by which various microporous octahedral frameworks of different topologies can be constructed. The borate groups share oxygens with the Al octahedral frameworks forming two kinds of three-membered-ring units consisting of two octahedra and one triangle (2Al+B) and one octahedron and two triangles (Al+2B), respectively.     

Structure-directing roles and interactions of fluoride and organocations with siliceous zeolite frameworks

Interactions of fluoride anions and organocations with crystalline silicate frameworks are shown to depend subtly on the architectures of the organic species, which significantly influence the crystalline structures that result. One- and two-dimensional (2D) (1)H, (19)F, and (29)Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy measurements establish distinct intermolecular interactions among F(-) anions, imidazolium structure-directing agents (SDA(+)), and crystalline silicate frameworks for as-synthesized siliceous zeolites ITW and MTT. Different types and positions of hydrophobic alkyl ligands on the imidazolium SDA(+) species under otherwise identical zeolite synthesis compositions and conditions lead to significantly different interactions between the F(-) and SDA(+) ions and the respective silicate frameworks. For as-synthesized zeolite ITW, F(-) anions are established to reside in the double-four-ring (D4R) cages and interact strongly and selectively with D4R silicate framework sites, as manifested by their strong (19)F-(29)Si dipolar couplings. By comparison, for as-synthesized zeolite MTT, F(-) anions reside within the 10-ring channels and interact relatively weakly with the silicate framework as ion pairs with the SDA(+) ions. Such differences manifest the importance of interactions between the imidazolium and F(-) ions, which account for their structure-directing influences on the topologies of the resulting silicate frameworks. Furthermore, 2D (29)Si{(29)Si} double-quantum NMR measurements establish (29)Si-O-(29)Si site connectivities within the as-synthesized zeolites ITW and MTT that, in conjunction with synchrotron X-ray diffraction analyses, establish insights on complicated order and disorder within their framework structures.     

Rings and strain in pure silica zeolites

The stability of rings in pure silica zeolite frameworks is investigated through a new method. The energetic terms influencing the stability of rings are evaluated through the short-range plus electrostatics corresponding to SiO bonds and OSiO and SiOSi angles. Several atomistic force fields have been evaluated, and a reparametrization of the Vessal-Leslie-Catlow force field has been chosen because of its physical meaning and good structural accuracy. The ring energetics are analyzed and discussed in terms of local strain in the framework and in terms of geometric variables. This methodology allows to differentiate between the strain of rings of a given size in different zeolite structures. In particular, it is found that double four rings (D4Rs) are not necessarily, as previously stated, a strained secondary building unit. The analyses of D4Rs in the topologies AST, BEC, and LTA allow the calculation of its stability in the different structures showing high energy in BEC and LTA and low energy in AST. Implications of these results on nucleation of zeolites are drawn regarding the facility with which D4Rs are inserted in different frameworks.     

Covalent Organic Frameworks: Chemical Approaches to Designer Structures and Built‐In Functions

A new approach has been developed to design organic polymers using topology diagrams. This strategy enables covalent integration of organic units into ordered topologies and creates a new polymer form, that is, covalent organic frameworks. This is a breakthrough in chemistry because it sets a molecular platform for synthesizing polymers with predesignable primary and high‐order structures, which has been a central aim for over a century but unattainable with traditional design principles. This new field has its own features that are distinct from conventional polymers. This Review summarizes the fundamentals as well as major progress by focusing on the chemistry used to design structures, including the principles, synthetic strategies, and control methods. We scrutinize built‐in functions that are specific to the structures by revealing various interplays and mechanisms involved in the expression of function. We propose major fundamental issues to be addressed in chemistry as well as future directions from physics, materials, and application perspectives.     

Two-dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks: Tessellation by Synthetic Art

Covalent organic frameworks(COFs) featuring designable nanoporous structures exhibit many fascinating properties and have attracted great attention in recent years for their intriguing application potential in sensing, catalysis, gas storage and separation, optoelectronics, etc. Rational design of twodimensional(2D) COFs through judiciously selecting chemical building blocks is critical to acquiring predetermined skeleton and pore structures. In this perspective, we review the reticular synthesis of 2D COFs with different topologies, highlighting the important role of various characterization techniques in crystal structure determination. 2D COFs with simple tessellations have been widely investigated, while the synthesis of complex tessellated COFs is still a great challenge. Some recent examples of 2D COFs with novel topological structures are also surveyed.     

Chemical evaluation of hypothetical uninodal zeolites

Optimized structural parameters, framework energies relative to alpha-quartz, and volumes accessible to sorption have been calculated for the systematically enumerated hypothetical uninodal zeolitic structures (structures in which all tetrahedral sites are equivalent). The structures were treated as silica polymorphs, and their energies were minimized using the GULP program with the Sanders-Catlow silica potential. Results are given for 164 structures, which include all 21 known uninodal zeolites, two known minerals (tridymite and cristobalite), and 78 unknown zeolite topologies. Twenty-three hypothetical structures were identified as chemically feasible. Complete structural information is provided, and several structures are discussed in detail. The results will assist in the design of new synthetic routes and in the identification of newly synthesized materials.     

Crystalline oxyfluorinated open-framework compounds: Silicates, metal phosphates, metal fluorides and metal-organic frameworks (MOF)

This contribution is dedicated to a short overview on the utilization of fluorine for the preparation of crystalline microporous frameworks including different families of solids: zeolites, metal phosphates and metal-organic frameworks (MOF-type). Beside the silicates compounds, this presentation is focused on the different types of fluorinated aluminum or gallium phosphates hydrothermally obtained in the presence of organic structure-directing agent or templates. The structural features of aluminum fluorides synthesized with amines are also detailed as well as the influence of fluorine in the synthesis of the metal-organic frameworks involving trivalent metals. The role of fluorine is described for the hydrothermal synthesis of the different classes of materials. Fluorine is known for playing the role of mineralizing agent and favors the formation of well crystalline phases. The use of HF modifies the pH of the reaction, which allows for the insertion of additional metallic cations on the mineral network. From the structural point of view, fluoride anions can be located within small cavities of the 3D framework and interactions with metals T (T = Si, Al, Ga, …) are often observed, resulting in the coordination change (from tetrahedral unit TO₄ to trigonal bipyramid TO₄F or octahedron TO₄F₂). Several configurations are found for fluorine and it seems to favor the stabilization of the specific cubane-like building unit (D4R), in which it is trapped, or participates to the coordination sphere of the metal atoms with bridging or terminal bondings. In general, new three-dimensional topologies with extra-large pores are obtained. The synthesis of purely aluminum fluorides with structure-directing agent is considered but only molecular or low-dimensional structures (chain-like or layered) compounds have been described. Fluorine is also used as a mineralizing agent for the preparation of well crystalline porous aluminum or chromium carboxylates and it was observed to partly substitute the aquo ligands in the giant pore of the compound MIL-100.     

Synthesis, structure, and metalation of two new highly porous zirconium metal-organic frameworks

Three new metal-organic frameworks [MOF-525, Zr(6)O(4)(OH)(4)(TCPP-H(2))(3); MOF-535, Zr(6)O(4)(OH)(4)(XF)(3); MOF-545, Zr(6)O(8)(H(2)O)(8)(TCPP-H(2))(2), where porphyrin H(4)-TCPP-H(2) = (C(48)H(24)O(8)N(4)) and cruciform H(4)-XF = (C(42)O(8)H(22))] based on two new topologies, ftw and csq, have been synthesized and structurally characterized. MOF-525 and -535 are composed of Zr(6)O(4)(OH)(4) cuboctahedral units linked by either porphyrin (MOF-525) or cruciform (MOF-535). Another zirconium-containing unit, Zr(6)O(8)(H(2)O)(8), is linked by porphyrin to give the MOF-545 structure. The structure of MOF-525 was obtained by analysis of powder X-ray diffraction data. The structures of MOF-535 and -545 were resolved from synchrotron single-crystal data. MOF-525, -535, and -545 have Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of 2620, 1120, and 2260 m(2)/g, respectively. In addition to their large surface areas, both porphyrin-containing MOFs are exceptionally chemically stable, maintaining their structures under aqueous and organic conditions. MOF-525 and -545 were metalated with iron(III) and copper(II) to yield the metalated analogues without losing their high surface area and chemical stability.     

Reticular design and crystal structure determination of covalent organic frameworks

Reticular chemistry of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) deals with the linking of discrete organic molecular building units into extended structures adopting various topologies by strong covalent bonds. The past decade has witnessed a rapid development of COF chemistry in terms of both structural diversity and applications. From the structural perspective, irrespective of our subject of concern with regard to COFs, it is inevitable to take into account the structural aspects of COFs in all dimensions from 1D ribbons to 3D frameworks, for which understanding the concepts of reticular chemistry, based mainly on ‘reticular design’, will seemingly lead to unlimited ways of exploring the exquisiteness of this advanced class of porous, extended, and crystalline materials. A comprehensive discussion and understanding of reticular design, therefore, is of paramount importance so that everyone willing to research on COFs can interpret well and chemically correlate the geometrical structures of this subset of reticular materials and their practical applications. This article lies at the heart of using the conceptual basis of reticular chemistry for designing, modeling, and determination of novel infinite and crystalline structures. Especially, the structure determinations are described by means of chronological advances of discoveries and development of COFs whereby their crystal structures are elucidated by modeling through the topological approach, 3D electron diffraction, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and powder X-ray diffraction techniques.

This article describes the conceptual basis of rational design in COF chemistry and comprehensively discusses the crystal structure determination of COFs using the topological approach, X-ray diffraction, and 3D electron diffraction.     

One-Step Simultaneous Synthesis of Circularly Polarized Luminescent Multiple Helicenes Using a Chrysene Framework

A series of multiple helicenes was simultaneously synthesized in one step by intramolecular cyclization of a single chrysene derivative containing two 2-[(4-alkoxyphenyl)ethynyl]phenyl units accompanied by rearrangements of the aryl pendants. The electrophile-induced double cyclization with or without aryl migrations proceeded efficiently under acidic conditions to afford annulative π-extension of the chrysene units and produced quadruple (QH- 2 ), triple (TH- 2 ), and double (DH- 2 ) helicenes containing [4]- and/or [5]helicene frameworks with dynamic and/or static helicene chirality in one step. Three multiple helicenes’ structures were determined by X-ray crystallography and/or density functional theory calculations. The multiple TH- 2 and DH- 2 helicenes were separated into enantiomers because of the stable one and two [5]helicene moieties, respectively, and showed intense circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence. Although QH- 2 , which comprises four [4]helicene subunits, was not resolved into enantiomers, the TH- 2 enantiomers were further separated into a pair of diastereomers at low temperature resulting from their substituted [4]helicene chirality.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Thermal Properties of a Novel Samarium Complex with 1D Nano-chain Structure

1 Introduction The design and construction of metal-organic polymers has been a field of rapid growth in materials chemistry because of their intriguing topologies and potential applications as functional materials[1―6]. In     

Lanthanide complexes with oda, ida, and nta: From discrete coordination compounds to supramolecular assemblies

Lanthanide metal–organic frameworks have been receiving special attention for the last decade. The use of polydentate organic ligands has allowed the construction of interesting network topologies with many potential applications, based on the special characteristics of the 4f electrons. In this paper, the structural and thermodynamic properties of Ln(III) complexes with oxydiacetate, iminodiacetate, and nitrilotriacetate are critically reviewed. The presence of ligands able to act as a bridge promotes the formation of Ln–M polynuclear complexes with fascinating 3D structures, whose study is also included. Equilibrium data of these systems in aqueous solution have been collected, showing the relationship between the composition of the species in solution and the nuclearity in the solid state.     

Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Frameworks Towards Spintronics

The intrinsic properties of predesignable topologies and tunable electronic structures, coupled with the increase of electrical conductivity, make two-dimensional metal–organic frameworks (2D MOFs) highly prospective candidates for next-generation electronic/spintronic devices. In this Minireview, we present an outline of the design principles of 2D MOF-based spintronics materials. Then, we highlight the spin-transport properties of 2D MOF-based organic spin valves (OSVs) as a notable achievement in the progress of 2D MOFs for spintronics devices. After that, we discuss the potential for spin manipulation in 2D MOFs with bipolar magnetic semiconductor (BMS) properties as a promising field for future research. Finally, we provide a brief summary and outlook to encourage the development of novel 2D MOFs for spintronics applications.     

Tetrahedral distortion and energetic packing penalty in "zeolite" frameworks: linked phenomena?

We report a computational study on the distortion of SiO4 tetrahedra in zeolite frameworks. For all previously observed frameworks, the tetrahedral mismatch was found to span a narrow range (1.0 x 10(-3) to 2.5 x 10(-2) angstroms2) of values, in contrast to the hypothetical frameworks, which were calculated to have a much wider range of mismatch values. The energy of the frameworks was not found to be a function of the tetrahedral distortion for the previously observed and moderately distorted (tetrahedral mismatch <2.5 x 10(-2) angstroms2) hypothetical frameworks. In contrast, the energy of the bulk of the hypothetical frameworks was shown to be a strong function of the tetrahedral distortion. The fact that the framework energies of some hypothetical frameworks lie much higher than both those of the observed frameworks and the values we would expect from our previously developed topological method (the so-called energetic packing penalty) is explained in terms of the tetrahedral distortion contribution to the framework energy which is negligible for the observed frameworks. Finally, it is hypothesized that the absence of tetrahedral distortion is pivotal for a framework to be experimentally realized, in which case a large fraction of hypothetical frameworks are unrealizable and will forever remain in the realms of the abstract.     

Recent Advances in Zeolite-like Cluster Organic Frameworks

During the past decade, research on the design and synthesis of zeolite-like metal–organic frameworks (ZMOFs) has developed greatly. As an important subclass of ZMOFs, zeolite-like cluster organic frameworks (ZCOFs) built from 4-connected metal-cluster secondary building units (SBUs) and appropriate linear organic ligand bridges have attracted sustained interest, because such materials not only integrate the merits of inorganic zeolites, ZMOFs, and metal clusters, including interesting topologies, high surface areas, extra-large cavities and channels, structural tunability, and unique physicochemical properties from various metal clusters, but also open up a new avenue to design and fabricate hybrid zeolite-like materials that have many potential applications in material sciences. In this review, recent developments in ZCOFs are summarized by classifying the ZCOFs into four categories according to the composition of the SBUs: 1) ZCOFs based on metal–halide cluster SBUs, 2) ZCOFs based on metal–oxygen cluster SBUs, 3) ZCOFs based on metal–chalcogen cluster SBUs, and 4) ZCOFs based on mixed types of metal-cluster SBUs. Besides, challenges associated with the design and synthesis of ZCOFs and the vast potential of this area are also discussed.     

An open-framework silicogermanate with 26-ring channels built from seven-coordinated (Ge,Si)10(O,OH)28 clusters

We report a new open-framework silicogermanate SU-61 containing 26-ring channels with a low framework density. It can be seen as a crystalline analogue to the mesoporous silica MCM-41. The structure is built from the assembly of (Ge,Si)10(O,OH)28 clusters. It is the first time that silicon has been successfully introduced in the Ge10 cluster in significant amounts ( approximately 21% of the tetrahedral sites). Five- and six-coordinated Ge10 clusters have previously been observed in other germanate compounds leading to either dense or open structures. In SU-61, the seven-coordinated clusters fall onto yet another underlying net, the osf net. SU-61, along with other Ge10 based frameworks, shows the versatility of the germanate system to adopt defined topologies playing on the connectivity of the clusters following the principles of net decoration and scale chemistry.     

Synthesis, structural diversity and fluorescent characterisation of a series of d10 metal-organic frameworks (MOFs): reaction conditions, secondary ligand and metal effects

Along with our recent investigation on the flexible ligand of H(2)ADA (1,3-adamantanediacetic acid), a series of Zn(II) and Cd(II) metal-organic frameworks, namely, [Zn(3)(ADA)(3)(H(2)O)(2)](n)·5nH(2)O (1), [Zn(ADA)(4,4'-bipy)(0.5)](n) (2), [Zn(2)(ADA)(2)(bpa)](n) (3), [Zn(2)(ADA)(2)(bpa)](n) (4), [Zn(2)(ADA)(2)(bpp)](n) (5), [Cd(HADA)(2)((4,4'-bipy)](n) (6), [Cd(3)(ADA)(3)(bpa)(2)(CH(3)OH)(H(2)O)](n) (7), and [Cd(2)(ADA)(2)(bpp)(2)](n)·7nH(2)O (8) have been synthesized and structurally characterized (where 4,4'-bipy = 4,4'-dipyridine, bpa = 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane and bpp = 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane). Due to various coordination modes and conformations of the flexible dicarboxylate ligand and the different pyridyl-containing coligands, these complexes exhibit structural and dimensional diversity. Complex 1 exhibits a three-dimensional (3D) framework containing one-dimensional (1D) Zn(II)-O-C-O-Zn(II) clusters. Complex 2 exhibits a 2D structure constructed by 1D double chains based on [Zn(2)ADA(2)] units and a 4,4'-bipy pillar. Complexes 3 and 4 possess isomorphic 2D layer structures, resulting from the different coordination modes of carboxylate group of ADA ligands. Complex 5 features a 2D 4(4) layer in which ADA ligands and Zn(II) atoms construct a 1D looped chain and the chains are further connected by bpp ligands. Complex 6 is composed of 1D zig-zag chains that are entangled through hydrogen-bonding interactions to generate a 2D network. Complex 7 is a rare (3,5)-connected network. Complex 8 possesses a 3D microporous framework with lots of water molecules encapsulated in the channels. The structural diversity of the complexes perhaps mainly results from using diverse secondary ligands and different metal centre ions, and means the assistant ligand and metal centre play important roles in the design and synthesis of target metal-organic frameworks. This finding revealed that ADA could be used as an effective bridging ligand to construct MOFs and change coordination modes and conformational geometries in these complexes. The thermogravimetric analyses, X-ray powder diffraction and solid-state luminescent properties of the complexes have also been investigated.