Encapsulation of a Porous Organic Cage into the Pores of a Metal-Organic Framework for Enhanced CO2 Separation

We present a facile approach to encapsulate functional porous organic cages (POCs) into a robust MOF by an incipient-wetness impregnation method. Porous cucurbit[6]uril (CB6) cages with high CO2 affinity were successfully encapsulated into the nanospace of Cr-based MIL-101 while retaining the crystal framework, morphology, and high stability of MIL-101. The encapsulated CB6 amount is controllable. Importantly, as the CB6 molecule with intrinsic micropores is smaller than the inner mesopores of MIL-101, more affinity sites for CO2 are created in the resulting CB6@MIL-101 composites, leading to enhanced CO2 uptake capacity and CO2 /N2 , CO2 /CH4 separation performance at low pressures. This POC@MOF encapsulation strategy provides a facile route to introduce functional POCs into stable MOFs for various potential applications.

Encapsulation and controlled release characteristics of ethylene gas in cucurbit[n]urils

Ethylene was introduced into cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s,n= 5–7) by molecular encapsulation, for comparison with V-type crystalline starch (V-starch) and α-cyclodextrin (α-CD).

High-frequency fabrication of discrete and dispersible hollow carbon spheres with hierarchical porous shells by using secondary-crosslinking pyrolysis

Discrete, uniform HCSs with hierarchical porous shell are fabricated by “secondary-crosslinking pyrolysis”, showing high specific capacitance of 192 F g⁻¹.

The role of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance in crystal engineering

This Highlight article discusses the role of solid-state NMR spectroscopy in crystal engineering with the aid of several examples from the literature.