Understanding adsorption-induced structural transitions in metal-organic frameworks: From the unit cell to the crystal

Dynamics of isobutane is a sensitive probe for framework breathing in MIL-53 (Al) MOF

²H solid-state NMR shows that the dynamics of adsorbed isobutane is very sensitive to MIL-53 framework breathing detected by ²⁷Al MAS NMR.

Multi- and instabilities in gas partitioning between nanoporous materials and rubber balloons

In the two-balloon experiment, two rubber balloons are connected and allowed to exchange gas. Owing to the non-monotonic relationship between the radius of the balloon and the pressure of gas inside it, the two-balloon system presents multi- and in-stabilities. Herein, we consider a two-adsorbent system, where two different adsorbents are allowed to exchange gas. We show that, for rigid adsorbents, the thermodynamic equilibrium state is unique. Then, we consider an adsorbent-balloon system, where an adsorbent exchanges gas with a rubber balloon. This system can exhibit multiple states at thermodynamic equilibrium- two (meta)stable and one unstable. The size of the balloon, pressure of gas in the balloon, and partitioning of gas between the adsorbent and the balloon differ among the equilibrium states. Temperature changes and the addition/removal of gas into/from the adsorbent-balloon system can induce catastrophe bifurcations and show hysteresis. Furthermore, the adsorbent-balloon system exhibits a critical temperature where, when approached from below, the discrepancy of balloon size between the two (meta)stable states decreases and, beyond, bistability is impossible. Practically, our findings preclude multiple partitions of adsorbed gas in rigid, mixed-linker or stratified metal-organic frameworks and may inspire new soft actuator and sensor designs.

Metal-Organic Frameworks for Water Harvesting from Air

Water harvesting from air in passive, adsorption-based devices holds great potential for delivering drinking water to arid regions of the world. This technology requires adsorbents that can be tailored for a maximum working capacity, temperature response, and the relative pressure range in which reversible adsorption occurs. In this respect, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising, owing to their structural diversity and the precision of their functionalization for adjusting both pore size and hydrophilicity, thereby facilitating the rational design of their water-sorption characteristics. Here, chemical and structural factors crucial for the design of hydrolytically stable MOFs for water adsorption are discussed. Prevalent water adsorption mechanisms in micro- and mesoporous MOFs alongside strategies for fine-tuning of their adsorption behavior by means of reticular chemistry are presented. Finally, an approach for the selection of promising MOFs with respect to water harvesting from air is proposed and design concepts for next-generation MOFs for application in passive adsorption-based water-harvesting devices are outlined.

Thermodynamics of the Flexible Metal-Organic Framework Material MIL-53(Cr) From First Principles

We use first-principles density functional theory total energy and linear response phonon calculations to compute the Helmholtz and Gibbs free energy as a function of temperature, pressure, and cell volume in the flexible metal-organic framework material MIL-53(Cr) within the quasiharmonic approximation. GGA and metaGGA calculations were performed, each including empirical van der Waals (vdW) forces under the D2, D3, or D3(BJ) parameterizations. At all temperatures up to 500 K and pressures from -30 MPa to 30 MPa, two minima in the free energy versus volume are found, corresponding to the narrow pore (np) and large pore (lp) structures. Critical positive and negative pressures are identified, beyond which there is only one free energy minimum. While all results overestimated the stability of the np phase relative to the lp phase, the best overall agreement with experiment is found for the metaGGA PBEsol+RTPSS+U+J approach with D3 or D3(BJ) vdW forces. For these parameterizations, the calculated free energy barrier for the np-lp transition is only 3 to 6 kJ per mole of Cr₄(OH)₄(C₈H₄O₄)₄.

Recent advances in the computational chemistry of soft porous crystals

We highlight recent progress in the field of computational chemistry of nanoporous materials, focusing on methods and studies that address the extraordinary dynamic nature of these systems: the high flexibility of their frameworks, the large-scale structural changes upon external physical or chemical stimulation, and the presence of defects and disorder.

Flexible Metal-Organic Frameworks: Recent Advances and Potential Applications

Flexible metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) receive much attention owing to their attractive properties that originate from their flexibility and dynamic behavior, and show great potential applications in many fields. Here, recent progress in the discovery, understanding, and property investigations of flexible MOFs are reviewed, and the examples of their potential applications in storage and separation, sensing, and guest capture and release are presented to highlight the developing trends in flexible MOFs.

Investigating the Pressure-Induced Amorphization of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework ZIF-8: Mechanical Instability Due to Shear Mode Softening

We provide the first molecular dynamics study of the mechanical instability that is the cause of pressure-induced amorphization of zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-8. By measuring the elastic constants of ZIF-8 up to the amorphization pressure, we show that the crystal-to-amorphous transition is triggered by the mechanical instability of ZIF-8 under compression, due to shear mode softening of the material. No similar softening was observed under temperature increase, explaining the absence of temperature-induced amorphization in ZIF-8. We also demonstrate the large impact of the presence of adsorbate in the pores on the mechanical stability and compressibility of the framework, increasing its shear stability. This first molecular dynamics study of ZIF mechanical properties under variations of pressure, temperature, and pore filling opens the way to a more comprehensive understanding of their mechanical stability, structural transitions, and amorphization.

Understanding adsorption-induced structural transitions in metal-organic frameworks: from the unit cell to the crystal

Breathing transitions represent recently discovered adsorption-induced structural transformations between large-pore and narrow-pore conformations in bi-stable metal-organic frameworks such as MIL-53. We present a multiscale physical mechanism of the dynamics of breathing transitions. We show that due to interplay between host framework elasticity and guest molecule adsorption, these transformations on the crystal level occur via layer-by-layer shear. We construct a simple Hamiltonian that describes the physics of host-host and host-guest interactions on the level of unit cells and reduces to one effective dimension due to the long-range elastic cell-cell interactions. We then use this Hamiltonian in Monte Carlo simulations of adsorption-desorption cycles to study how the behavior of unit cells is linked to the transition mechanism at the crystal level through three key physical parameters: the transition energy barrier, the cell-cell elastic coupling, and the system size.