BODIPY-Based Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity for the Photocatalytic Detoxification of a Chemical Threat

Highly Efficient Propyne/Propylene Separation in a "Flexible-Robust" and Hydrolytically Stable Cu(II)-MOF

Propyne/propylene separation is important in the petrochemical industry but challenging due to their similar physical properties and close molecular sizes. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of promising adsorbents for light hydrocarbon separations. Among them, the so-called "flexible-robust" MOFs combine the advantages of flexibility and rigidity in structure and could show enhanced gas separation selectivity as well as improved gas uptake at low pressure. Interpenetrated MOFs offer a platform to explore the "flexible-robust" feature of MOFs based on their subnetwork displacement in the process of gas adsorption. Herein, we present two hydrolytically stable MOFs (BUT-308 and BUT-309) with interpenetrated structures and fascinating propyne/propylene separation performance. BUT-308 is composed of interpenetrated 2D Cu(BDC-NH₂)BPB layers (H₂BDC-NH₂ = 2-aminobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid; BPB = 1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)benzene), while BUT-309 consists of twofold interpenetrated 3D pillared-layer Cu₂(BDC-NH₂)₂(BPB-CF₃) nets (BPB-CF₃ = 2-trifluoromethyl-1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)benzene). Gas adsorption measurements showed that BUT-309 was a "flexible-robust" adsorbent with multistep adsorption isotherms for C₃H₄ rather than C₃H₆ at a wide temperature range. The guest-dependent pore-opening behavior endows BUT-309 with high potential in the C₃H₄/C₃H₆ separation. The C₃H₄ adsorption measurements of BUT-309 at 273-323 K showed that the lowering of the temperature induced the pore-opening action at lower pressure. Column breakthrough experiments further confirmed the capability of BUT-309 for the efficient removal of C₃H₄ from a C₃H₄/C₃H₆ binary gas, and the C₃H₆ processing capacity at 273 K (15.7 cm³ g^-1) was higher than that at 298 K (35.2 cm³ g^-1). This work shows a rare example of "flexible-robust" MOFs and demonstrated its high potential for C₃H₄/C₃H₆ separation.

Replacing the BO in BODIPY: unlocking the path to SBDIPY and BIDIPY chromophores

Boron-based dipyrrin chromophores (BODIPY) have found widespread application over the last twenty years in fields as diverse as medicine and materials. Thus, several efforts have been placed to exchange boron with other elements, with the aim of developing materials with complementary luminescent properties. However, despite these attempts, the incorporation of other main-group elements in dipyrrin scaffolds remains still rare. We have successfully synthesized and characterized novel chromophores based on antimony and bismuth, SBDIPY and BIDIPY. Solution stabilities have been investigated by VT-UV/vis spectroscopy and the fluorescence emission studied and supported by computational analysis. We were also able to isolate the first direct analogue of BODIPY containing fluoride handles, disclosing preliminary luminescent features.