Crystalline metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are formed by reticular synthesis, which creates strong bonds between inorganic and organic units. Careful selection of MOF constituents can yield crystals of ultrahigh porosity and high thermal and chemical stability. These characteristics allow the interior of MOFs to be chemically altered for use in gas separation, gas storage, and catalysis, among other applications. The precision commonly exercised in their chemical modification and the ability to expand their metrics without changing the underlying topology have not been achieved with other solids. MOFs whose chemical composition and shape of building units can be multiply varied within a particular structure already exist and may lead to materials that offer a synergistic combination of properties.

The Chemistry and Applications of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Adsorptive separation is very important in industry. Generally, the process uses porous solid materials such as zeolites, activated carbons, or silica gels as adsorbents. With an ever increasing need for a more efficient, energy-saving, and environmentally benign procedure for gas separation, adsorbents with tailored structures and tunable surface properties must be found. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), constructed by metal-containing nodes connected by organic bridges, are such a new type of porous materials. They are promising candidates as adsorbents for gas separations due to their large surface areas, adjustable pore sizes and controllable properties, as well as acceptable thermal stability. This critical review starts with a brief introduction to gas separation and purification based on selective adsorption, followed by a review of gas selective adsorption in rigid and flexible MOFs. Based on possible mechanisms, selective adsorptions observed in MOFs are classified, and primary relationships between adsorption properties and framework features are analyzed. As a specific example of tailor-made MOFs, mesh-adjustable molecular sieves are emphasized and the underlying working mechanism elucidated. In addition to the experimental aspect, theoretical investigations from adsorption equilibrium to diffusion dynamics via molecular simulations are also briefly reviewed. Furthermore, gas separations in MOFs, including the molecular sieving effect, kinetic separation, the quantum sieving effect for H2/D2 separation, and MOF-based membranes are also summarized (227 references).

Selective gas adsorption and separation in metal–organic frameworks

Metal–Organic Frameworks for Separations

This critical review will be of interest to the experts in porous solids (including catalysis), but also solid state chemists and physicists. It presents the state-of-the-art on hybrid porous solids, their advantages, their new routes of synthesis, the structural concepts useful for their ‘design’, aiming at reaching very large pores. Their dynamic properties and the possibility of predicting their structure are described. The large tunability of the pore size leads to unprecedented properties and applications. They concern adsorption of species, storage and delivery and the physical properties of the dense phases. (323 references)

Hybrid porous solids: past, present, future

Metal Organic Frameworks in Biomedicine Patricia Horcajada,* Ruxandra Gref, Tarek Baati, Phoebe K. Allan, Guillaume Maurin, Patrick Couvreur, G erard F erey, Russell E. Morris, and Christian Serre* Institut Lavoisier, UMR CNRS 8180, Universit e de Versailles St-Quentin en Yvelines, 45 Avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France Facult e de Pharmacie, UMR CNRS 8612, Universit e Paris-Sud, 92296 Châtenay-Malabry Cedex, France Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR CNRS 5253, Universit e Montpellier 2, 34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France EaStChem School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews Purdie Building, St Andrews, KY16 9ST U.K.

Metal-organic frameworks in biomedicine.

Metal-organic microporous materials (MOMs) have attracted wide scientific attention owing to their unusual structure and properties, as well as commercial interest due to their potential applications in storage, separation and heterogeneous catalysis. One of the advantages of MOMs compared to other microporous materials, such as activated carbons, is their ability to exhibit a variety of pore surface properties such as hydrophilicity and chirality, as a result of the controlled incorporation of organic functional groups into the pore walls. This capability means that the pore surfaces of MOMs could be designed to adsorb specific molecules; but few design strategies for the adsorption of small molecules have been established so far. Here we report high levels of selective sorption of acetylene molecules as compared to a very similar molecule, carbon dioxide, onto the functionalized surface of a MOM. The acetylene molecules are held at a periodic distance from one another by hydrogen bonding between two non-coordinated oxygen atoms in the nanoscale pore wall of the MOM and the two hydrogen atoms of the acetylene molecule. This permits the stable storage of acetylene at a density 200 times the safe compression limit of free acetylene at room temperature.

Highly controlled acetylene accommodation in a metal–organic microporous material

We report the direct observation of dioxygen molecules physisorbed in the nanochannels of a microporous copper coordination polymer by the MEM (maximum entropy method)/Rietveld method, using in situ high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction measurements. The obtained MEM electron density revealed that van der Waals dimers of physisorbed O2 locate in the middle of nanochannels and form a one-dimensional ladder structure aligned to the host channel structure. The observed O–O stretching Raman band and magnetic susceptibilities are characteristic of the confined O2 molecules in one-dimensional nanochannels of CPL-1 (coordination polymer 1 with pillared layer structure).

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/298/5602/2358.full.pdf

Formation of a one-dimensional array of oxygen in a microporous metal-organic solid

Porous coordination polymers are materials formed from metal ions that are bridged together by organic linkers and that can combine two seemingly contradictory properties-crystallinity and flexibility. Porous coordination polymers can therefore create highly regular yet dynamic nanoporous domains that are particularly promising for sorption applications. Here, we describe the effective selective sorption of dioxygen and nitric oxide by a structurally and electronically dynamic porous coordination polymer built from zinc centres and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) as a linker. In contrast to a variety of other gas molecules (C(2)H(2), Ar, CO(2), N(2) and CO), O(2) and NO are accommodated in its pores. This unprecedented preference arises from the concerted effect of the charge-transfer interaction between TCNQ and these guests, and the switchable gate opening and closing of the pores of the framework. This system provides further insight into the efficient recognition of small gas molecules.

Selective sorption of oxygen and nitric oxide by an electron-donating flexible porous coordination polymer

For type-Ib diamond neutron irradiated and annealed at 900\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C, it has been found that the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center is reduced in density with increasing irradiation in the dose range above a certain value, and instead the 575 and 594 nm centers appear abruptly. This fact is interpreted in terms of change in the charge state of defects correlated with large change in the Fermi level produced by heavy irradiation. Based on the present results, a model is proposed for the 575 nm center: (NV${)}^{0}$, a defect released one electron from the NV center. It has been observed that the growth nature of the 594 nm center with irradiation is different between types Ia and Ib. This difference is explained by difference in the Fermi level of both types. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Change of absorption spectra in type-ib diamond with heavy neutron irradiation

Optical absorption and IR reflection measurements of MnO were performed under various pressures up to 140 GPa at room temperature. In IR reflection measurement, a drastic increase in reflectivity due to the metallization is observed from 94 GPa. On the other hand, in absorption, it is observed that the band gap does not close monotonously with pressure but accelerated extremely from 80 GPa, as indicated by an abrupt increase of an additional absorption tail located at the lower energy than the absorption edge. The absorption tail extends to 0 eV around 90 GPa, which is consistent with the IR reflection measurement. The pressure coefficient of the band gap shift is obtained to be $\ensuremath{-}0.016\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}∕\mathrm{GPa}$ up to 80 GPa.

Yoshimi Mita

Papers

Highly controlled acetylene accommodation in a metal–organic microporous material

Formation of a one-dimensional array of oxygen in a microporous metal-organic solid

Selective sorption of oxygen and nitric oxide by an electron-donating flexible porous coordination polymer

Change of absorption spectra in type-ib diamond with heavy neutron irradiation

Pressure-induced metallization of MnO