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

The long-standing challenge of designing and constructing new crystalline solid-state materials from molecular building blocks is just beginning to be addressed with success. A conceptual approach that requires the use of secondary building units to direct the assembly of ordered frameworks epitomizes this process: we call this approach reticular synthesis. This chemistry has yielded materials designed to have predetermined structures, compositions and properties. In particular, highly porous frameworks held together by strong metal-oxygen-carbon bonds and with exceptionally large surface area and capacity for gas storage have been prepared and their pore metrics systematically varied and functionalized.

/pdf/reticular-synthesis-and-the-design-of-new-materials-lazbx7tdux.pdf

Reticular synthesis and the design of new materials

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

A strategy based on reticulating metal ions and organic carboxylate links into extended networks has been advanced to a point that allowed the design of porous structures in which pore size and functionality could be varied systematically. Metal-organic framework (MOF-5), a prototype of a new class of porous materials and one that is constructed from octahedral Zn-O-C clusters and benzene links, was used to demonstrate that its three-dimensional porous system can be functionalized with the organic groups –Br, –NH2, –OC3H7, –OC5H11, –C2H4, and –C4H4 and that its pore size can be expanded with the long molecular struts biphenyl, tetrahydropyrene, pyrene, and terphenyl. We synthesized an isoreticular series (one that has the same framework topology) of 16 highly crystalline materials whose open space represented up to 91.1% of the crystal volume, as well as homogeneous periodic pores that can be incrementally varied from 3.8 to 28.8 angstroms. One member of this series exhibited a high capacity for methane storage (240 cubic centimeters at standard temperature and pressure per gram at 36 atmospheres and ambient temperature), and others the lowest densities (0.41 to 0.21 gram per cubic centimeter) for a crystalline material at room temperature.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5554/469.full.pdf

Systematic Design of Pore Size and Functionality in Isoreticular MOFs and Their Application in Methane Storage

Metal–Organic Frameworks for Separations

Free-standing, accessible thiol (−SH) functions have been installed in robust, porous coordination networks to provide wide-ranging reactivities and properties in the solid state. The frameworks were assembled by reacting ZrCl4 or AlCl3 with 2,5-dimercapto-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2DMBD), which features the hard carboxyl and soft thiol functions. The resultant Zr-DMBD and Al-DMBD frameworks exhibit the UiO-66 and CAU-1 topologies, respectively, with the carboxyl bonded to the hard Zr(IV) or Al(III) center and the thiol groups decorating the pores. The thiol-laced Zr-DMBD crystals lower the Hg(II) concentration in water below 0.01 ppm and effectively take up Hg from the vapor phase. The Zr-DMBD solid also features a nearly white photoluminescence that is distinctly quenched after Hg uptake. The carboxyl/thiol combination thus illustrates the wider applicability of the hard-and-soft strategy for functional frameworks.

Effective mercury sorption by thiol-laced metal-organic frameworks: in strong acid and the vapor phase.

Despite the notable progress in perovskite solar cells, maintaining long-term operational stability and minimizing potentially leaked lead (Pb2+) ions are two challenges that are yet to be resolved. Here we address these issues using a thiol-functionalized 2D conjugated metal–organic framework as an electron-extraction layer at the perovskite/cathode interface. The resultant devices exhibit high power conversion efficiency (22.02%) along with a substantially improved long-term operational stability. The perovskite solar cell modified with a metal–organic framework could retain more than 90% of its initial efficiency under accelerated testing conditions, that is continuous light irradiation at maximum power point tracking for 1,000 h at 85 °C. More importantly, the functionalized metal–organic framework could capture most of the Pb2+ leaked from the degraded perovskite solar cells by forming water-insoluble solids. Therefore, this method that simultaneously tackles the operational stability and lead contamination issues in perovskite solar cells could greatly improve the feasibility of large-scale deployment of perovskite photovoltaic technology. Two-dimensional conjugated metal–organic frameworks used as an electron-extraction layer enable the realization of highly stable perovskite solar cells with minimized lead ion leakage.

2D metal-organic framework for stable perovskite solar cells with minimized lead leakage

Investigations on molecular variants of the 3-fold symmetric 1,3,5-tris(4-ethynylbenzonitrile)benzene crystallized with silver triflate revealed a nearly invariant pseudohexagonal porous structure type. Modifications involved the attachment of pendant groups to the central aromatic ring of the parent molecule. Pendant groups include the vinyl group, stilbene, the chiral group myrtanol, and groups with different chemical functionalities such as alcohols, ethers, and esters. Modifications also included the addition of elongated spacer units between the central benzene ring and the peripheral nitrile groups. In these molecules the acetylene bridges of 1,3,5-tris(4-ethynylbenzonitrile)benzene were replaced with diacetylene, ethynylbenzene, and diethynylbenzene type units. Single-crystal refinements for pentoxy-2,4,6-tris(4-ethynylbenzonitrile)benzene·AgOTf and 1,3,5-tris(4-(4-ethynylbenzonitrile)phenyl)benzene·AgOTf as well as powder data on 12 crystalline phases showed the consistent formation of pseudohexag...

Variable Pore Size, Variable Chemical Functionality, and an Example of Reactivity within Porous Phenylacetylene Silver Salts

A simple molecule, tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (4F-2CN), was discovered to be an efficient fluorescent probe for detecting biological thiol species. The probe responded to Cys and emitted strong green fluorescence, whereas it reacted with Hcy/GSH and generated blue fluorescence. Addition of CTAB (cetyl trimethylammonium bromide) was observed to alter the fluorescence color of the reaction product of 4F-2CN and Hcy (from blue to green), but no alteration of the fluorescence color occurred for Cys and GSH. For the very first time, cell imaging experiments showed that the three commonly occurring thiols (Cys/Hcy/GSH) could be differentiated using a single fluorescent probe. In addition, the reaction product of 4F-2CN and Cys exhibits two-photon properties, offering a potentially useful tool for tissue imaging studies. To the best of our knowledge, 4F-2CN is currently the smallest fluorescent probe for thiol detection. We envision that this new and versatile probe will be a useful tool for further elucidating the roles of thiols in biology.

/pdf/a-minimalist-fluorescent-probe-for-differentiating-cys-hcy-1em43u2v4v.pdf

Zhengtao Xu

Papers

Effective mercury sorption by thiol-laced metal-organic frameworks: in strong acid and the vapor phase.

2D metal-organic framework for stable perovskite solar cells with minimized lead leakage

Variable Pore Size, Variable Chemical Functionality, and an Example of Reactivity within Porous Phenylacetylene Silver Salts

A minimalist fluorescent probe for differentiating Cys, Hcy and GSH in live cells

Hybrid Field-Effect Transistor Based on a Low-Temperature Melt-Processed Channel Layer