Recent Developments in Mechanochemical Materials Synthesis by Extrusion

Mechanochemical synthesis, i.e., reactions conducted by grinding solid reactants together with no or minimal solvent, has been demonstrated as an excellent technique for the formation of both organic and inorganic compounds. Mechanochemistry is viewed as an alternative approach to chemical synthesis and is not always considered when developing manufacturing processes of fine chemicals. Here, recent advances are highlighted regarding mechanochemical synthesis, by utilizing a well-developed continuous technique - extrusion, and the advantages it offers to further support its use in the manufacturing of these chemicals. To put this work into context, it is shown how extrusion plays a vital role for manufacturing in the food, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries, and how the research carried out by these respective industrialists provides great insight and understanding of the technique, with the results being applicable in the chemical industry. The synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is highlighted herein as an excellent example showcasing the advantages that extrusion provides to the manufacture of these materials, one advantage being the exceptional space time yields (STYs) reported for these processes, at three orders of magnitude greater than conventional (solvothermal) synthesis.

Scalability of Continuous Flow Production of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Achieving the large-scale production of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is crucial for their utilization in applied settings. For many MOFs, quality suffers from large-scale, batch reaction systems. We have developed continuous processes for their production which showed promise owing to their versatility and the high quality of the products. Here, we report the successful upscaling of this concept by more than two orders of magnitude to deliver unprecedented production rates and space-time-yields (STYs) while maintaining the product quality. Encouragingly, no change in the reaction parameters, obtained at small scale, was required. The production of aluminium fumarate was achieved at an STY of 97 159 kg m(-3)  day(-1) and a rate of 5.6 kg h(-1) .

Aluminium fumarate metal-organic framework: A super adsorbent for fluoride from water

Potential of aluminium fumarate metal organic framework (MOF) for fluoride removal from groundwater has been explored in this work. The laboratory produced MOF exhibited characteristics similar to the commercial version. MOF was found to be micro-porous with surface area of 1156 m(2)/g and average pore size 17Å. Scanning electron micrograph of the AlFu MOF showed minute pores and texture was completely different from either of the parent materials. Change in the composition of AlFu MOF after fluoride adsorption was evident from powder X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermal stability of the AlFu MOF up to 700K was established by thermo-gravimetric analysis. Incorporation of fluoride phase after adsorption was confirmed by X-ray fluorescence analysis. As observed from FTIR study, hydroxyl ions in AlFu MOF were substituted by fluoride. 0.75 g/l AlFu MOF was good enough for complete removal of 30 mg/l fluoride concentration in feed solution. The maximum adsorption capacity for fluoride was 600, 550, 504 and 431 mg/g, respectively, at 293, 303, 313 and 333K.

Ambient pressure synthesis of MIL-100(Fe) MOF from homogeneous solution using a redox pathway

At normal pressure a DMSO–nitrate redox pathway, which is amenable to up-scaling or continuous flow reaction, gave MIL-100(Fe) with surface areas of S_BET = 1791 m² g⁻¹ and pore volumes of V_pore = 0.82 cm³ g⁻¹.

Shape selective properties of the Al-fumarate metal–organic framework in the adsorption and separation of n-alkanes, iso-alkanes, cyclo-alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons

Adsorption properties of a wide range of hydrocarbon adsorbates in the Al-fumarate metal–organic framework are reported. Trends in adsorption behaviour are related to the sorbate's molecular properties and as well as the properties of this MOF.

Mechanical energy storage performance of an aluminum fumarate metal-organic framework

The aluminum fumarate MOF A520 or MIL-53-FA is revealed to be a promising material for mechanical energy-related applications with performances in terms of work and heat energies which surpass those of any porous solids reported so far. Complementary experimental and computational tools are deployed to finely characterize and understand the pressure-induced structural transition at the origin of these unprecedented levels of performance.

Scalable simultaneous activation and separation of metal–organic frameworks

Despite the many promising applications of Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) the key advances to boost production to industrial scale still remain elusive.

Single-crystal and humidity-controlled powder diffraction study of the breathing effect in a metal–organic framework upon water adsorption/desorption

Water adsorption/desorption-triggered single-crystal to single-crystal transformations in a MOF are studied.

Metal-Organic Frameworks in Adsorption-Driven Heat Pumps: The Potential of Alcohols as Working Fluids

A large fraction of global energy is consumed for heating and cooling. Adsorption-driven heat pumps and chillers could be employed to reduce this consumption. MOFs are often considered to be ideal adsorbents for heat pumps and chillers. While most published works to date on this topic have focused on the use of water as a working fluid, the instability of many MOFs to water and the fact that water cannot be used at subzero temperatures pose certain drawbacks. The potential of using alcohol-MOF pairs in adsorption-driven heat pumps and chillers is investigated. To this end, 18 different selected MOF structures in combination with either methanol or ethanol as a working fluid are considered, and their potential is assessed on the basis of adsorption measurements and thermodynamic efficiencies. If alcohols are used instead of water, then (1) adsorption occurs at lower relative pressures for methanol and even lower pressure for ethanol, (2) larger pores can be utilized efficiently, as hysteresis is absent for pores smaller than 3.4 nm (2 nm for water), (3) larger pore sizes need to be employed to ensure the desired stepwise adsorption, (4) the effect of (polar/apolar) functional groups in the MOF is far less pronounced, (5) the energy released or taken up per cycle is lower, but heat and mass transfer may be enhanced, (6) stability of MOFs seems to be less of an issue, and (7) cryogenic applications (e.g., ice making) become feasible. From a thermodynamic perspective, UiO-67, CAU-3, and ZIF-8 seem to be the most promising MOFs for both methanol and ethanol as working fluids. Although UiO-67 might not be completely stable, both CAU-3 and ZIF-8 have the potential to be applied, especially in subzero-temperature adsorption chillers (AC).

Design of hydrophilic metal organic framework water adsorbents for heat reallocation

A new hydrothermally stable Al polycarboxylate metal-organic framework (MOF) based on a heteroatom bio-derived aromatic spacer is designed through a template-free green synthesis process. It appears that in some test conditions this MOF outperforms the heat reallocation performances of commercial SAPO-34.

Synthesis by extrusion: continuous, large-scale preparation of MOFs using little or no solvent

Grinding solid reagents under solvent-free or low-solvent conditions (mechanochemistry) is emerging as a general synthetic technique which is an alternative to conventional solvent-intensive methods. However, it is essential to find ways to scale-up this type of synthesis if its promise of cleaner manufacturing is to be realised. Here, we demonstrate the use of twin screw and single screw extruders for the continuous synthesis of various metal complexes, including Ni(salen), Ni(NCS)2(PPh3)2 as well as the commercially important metal organic frameworks (MOFs) Cu3(BTC)2 (HKUST-1), Zn(2-methylimidazolate)2 (ZIF-8, MAF-4) and Al(fumarate)(OH). Notably, Al(fumarate)(OH) has not previously been synthesised mechanochemically. Quantitative conversions occur to give products at kg h-1 rates which, after activation, exhibit surface areas and pore volumes equivalent to those of materials produced by conventional solvent-based methods. Some reactions can be performed either under completely solvent-free conditions whereas others require the addition of small amounts of solvent (typically 3-4 mol equivalents). Continuous neat melt phase synthesis is also successfully demonstrated by both twin screw and single screw extrusion for ZIF-8. The latter technique provided ZIF-8 at 4 kg h-1. The space time yields (STYs) for these methods of up to 144 × 103 kg per m3 per day are orders of magnitude greater than STYs for other methods of making MOFs. Extrusion methods clearly enable scaling of mechanochemical and melt phase synthesis under solvent-free or low-solvent conditions, and may also be applied in synthesis more generally.

High-yield, fluoride-free and large-scale synthesis of MIL-101(Cr)

MIL-101(Cr), one of the most important prototypical MOFs, is well investigated and widely used in many scientific fields.

Multicycle water vapour stability of microporous breathing MOF aluminium isophthalate CAU-10-H

A long-time water vapour stability over 700 sorption cycles is proven for the first time for a breathing MOF, here CAU-10-H.