"Shake 'n Bake" Route to Functionalized Zr-UiO-66 Metal-Organic Frameworks

Mechanochemical Encapsulation of Caffeine in UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH2 to Obtain Polymeric Composites by Extrusion with Recycled Polyamide 6 or Polylactic Acid Biopolymer

The development of capsules with additives that can be added to polymers during extrusion processing can lead to advances in the manufacturing of textile fabrics with improved and durable properties. In this work, caffeine (CAF), which has anti-cellulite properties, has been encapsulated by liquid-assisted milling in zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with different textural properties and chemical functionalization: commercial UiO-66, UiO-66 synthesized without solvents, and UiO-66-NH2 synthesized in ethanol. The CAF@MOF capsules obtained through the grinding procedure have been added during the extrusion process to recycled polyamide 6 (PA6) and to a biopolymer based on polylactic acid (PLA) to obtain a load of approximately 2.5 wt% of caffeine. The materials have been characterized by various techniques (XRD, NMR, TGA, FTIR, nitrogen sorption, UV-vis, SEM, and TEM) that confirm the caffeine encapsulation, the preservation of caffeine during the extrusion process, and the good contact between the polymer and the MOF. Studies of the capsules and PA6 polymer+capsules composites have shown that release is slower when caffeine is encapsulated than when it is free, and the textural properties of UiO-66 influence the release more prominently than the NH2 group. However, an interaction is established between the biopolymer PLA and caffeine that delays the release of the additive.

Simplifying the Synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous, crystalline materials constructed from organic linkers and inorganic nodes that have attracted widespread interest due to their permanent porosity and highly modular structures. However, the large volumes of organic solvents and additives, long reaction times, and specialized equipment typically required to synthesize MOFs hinder their widespread adoption in both academia and industry. Recently, our lab has developed several user-friendly methods for the gram-scale (1-100 g) preparation of MOFs. Herein, we summarize our progress in the development of high-concentration solvothermal, mechanochemical, and ionothermal syntheses of MOFs, as well as in minimizing the amount of modulators required to prepare highly crystalline Zr-MOFs. To begin, we detail our work elucidating key features of acid modulation in Zr-MOFs to improve upon current dilute solvothermal syntheses. Choosing an optimal modulator maximizes the crystallinity and porosity of Zr-MOFs while minimizing the quantity of modulator needed, reducing the waste associated with MOF synthesis. By evaluating a range of modulators, we identify the pKa, size, and structural similarity of the modulator to the linker as controlling factors in modulating ability. In the following section, we describe two high-concentration solvothermal methods for the synthesis of Zr-MOFs and demonstrate their generality among a range of frameworks. We also target the M2(dobdc) (M = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd; dobdc4- = 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) family of MOFs for high-concentration synthesis and introduce a two-step preparation of several variants that proceeds through a novel kinetic phase. The high-concentration methods we discuss produce MOFs on multi-gram scale with comparable properties to those prepared under traditional dilute solvothermal conditions. Next, to further curtail solvent waste and accelerate reaction times, we discuss the mechanochemical preparation of M2(dobdc) MOFs utilizing liquid amine additives in a planetary ball mill, which we also apply to the synthesis of two related salicylate frameworks. These samples exhibit comparable porosities to traditional dilute solvothermal samples but can be synthesized in just minutes, as opposed to days, and require under 1 mL of liquid additive to prepare ~0.5 g of material. In the following section, we discuss our efforts to avoid specialized equipment and eliminate solvent use entirely by employing ionothermal conditions to prepare a variety of azolate- and salicylate-based MOFs. Simply combining metal chloride (hydrate) salts with organic linkers at temperatures above the melting points of the salts affords high-quality framework materials. Further, ionothermal conditions enable the syntheses of two new Fe(III) M2(dobdc) derivatives that cannot be synthesized under normal solvothermal conditions. Last, as a demonstrative example, we discuss our efforts to synthesize 100 g of high-quality Mg2(dobdc) in a single batch using a high-concentration (1.0 M) hydrothermal synthesis. Our Account will be of significant interest to researchers aiming to prepare gram-scale quantities of MOFs for further study.

Optimizing volumetric surface area of UiO-66 and its functionalized analogs through compression

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered significant attention as gas storage materials due to their exceptional surface areas and customizable pore chemistry. For applications in the storage of small molecules for vehicular transportation, achieving high volumetric capacities is crucial. In this study, we demonstrate the compression of UiO-66 and a series of its functionalized analogs at elevated pressures, resulting in the formation of robust pellets with significantly increased volumetric surface areas. The optimal compression pressure is found to be contingent on the specific nature of the functional group attached to the organic linker in the MOF material.

High-Concentration Self-Assembly of Zirconium- and Hafnium-Based Metal-Organic Materials

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline, porous solids constructed from organic linkers and inorganic nodes that are promising for applications in chemical separations, gas storage, and catalysis, among many others. However, a major roadblock to the widespread implementation of MOFs, including highly tunable and hydrolytically stable Zr- and Hf-based frameworks, is their benchtop-scalable synthesis, as MOFs are typically prepared under highly dilute (≤0.01 M) solvothermal conditions. This necessitates the use of liters of organic solvent to prepare only a few grams of MOF. Herein, we demonstrate that Zr- and Hf-based frameworks (eight examples) can self-assemble at much higher reaction concentrations than are typically utilized, up to 1.00 M in many cases. Combining stoichiometric amounts of Zr or Hf precursors with organic linkers at high concentrations yields highly crystalline and porous MOFs, as confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and 77 K N₂ surface area measurements. Furthermore, the use of well-defined pivalate-capped cluster precursors avoids the formation of ordered defects and impurities that arise from standard metal chloride salts. These clusters also introduce pivalate defects that increase the exterior hydrophobicity of several MOFs, as confirmed by water contact angle measurements. Overall, our findings challenge the standard assumption that MOFs must be prepared under highly dilute solvothermal conditions for optimal results, paving the way for their scalable and user-friendly synthesis in the laboratory.

Palladium Nanoparticle-Decorated Porous Metal-Organic-Framework (Zr)@Guanidine: Novel Efficient Catalyst in Cross-Coupling (Suzuki, Heck, and Sonogashira) Reactions and Carbonylative Sonogashira under Mild Conditions

A novel heterogeneous Zr-based metal-organic framework containing an amino group functionalized with nitrogen-rich organic ligand (guanidine), through a step-by-step post synthesis modification approach, was successfully modified by the stabilization of palladium metal nanoparticles on the prepared UiO-66-NH₂ support in order to synthesize the Suzuki-Murray, Mizoroki-Heck, and copper-free Sonogashira reactions and also the carbonylative Sonogashira reaction incorporating H₂O as a green solvent under mild conditions. This newly synthesized highly efficient and reusable UiO-66-NH₂@cyanuric chloride@guanidine/Pd-NPs reported catalyst has been utilized to increase anchoring palladium onto the substrate with the aim of altering the construction of the intended synthesis catalyst to form the C-C coupling derivatives. Several strategies, including X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, transmission microscopy electron, thermogravimetric analysis, inductively coupled plasma, energy-dispersive X-ray, and elemental mapping analyzes, were used to indicate the successful preparation of the UiO-66-NH₂@cyanuric chloride@guanidine/Pd-NPs. In these reactions, the UiO-66-NH₂-supported Pd-NPs illustrated superior performances compared to their catalyst, revealing the benefits of providing nanocatalysts. As a result, the proposed catalyst is favorable in a green solvent, and also, the outputs are accomplished with good to excellent outputs. Furthermore, the suggested catalyst represented very good reusability with no remarkable loss in activity up nine sequential runs.

Increased CO2 Affinity and Adsorption Selectivity in MOF-801 Fluorinated Analogues

The novel Zr^IV-based perfluorinated metal-organic framework (PF-MOF) [Zr₆O₄(OH)₄(TFS)₆] (ZrTFS) was prepared under solvent-free conditions using the commercially available tetrafluorosuccinic acid (H₂TFS) as a bridging ditopic linker. Since H₂TFS can be seen as the fully aliphatic and perfluorinated C₄ analogue of fumaric acid, ZrTFS was found to be isoreticular to zirconium fumarate (MOF-801). The structure of ZrTFS was solved and refined from X-ray powder diffraction data. Despite this analogy, the gas adsorption capacity of ZrTFS is much lower than that of MOF-801; in the former, the presence of bulky fluorine atoms causes a considerable window size reduction. To have PF-MOFs with more accessible porosity, postsynthetic exchange (PSE) reactions on (defective) MOF-801 suspended in H₂TFS aqueous solutions were carried out. Despite the different H₂TFS concentrations used in the PSE process, the exchanges yielded two mixed-linker materials of similar minimal formulae [Zr₆O₄(μ₃-OH)₄(μ₁-OH)_2.08(H₂O)_2.08(FUM)_4.04(HTFS)_1.84] (PF-MOF1) and [Zr₆O₄(μ₃-OH)₄(μ₁-OH)_1.83(H₂O)_1.83(FUM)_4.04(HTFS)_2.09] (PF-MOF2) (FUM^2- = fumarate), where the perfluorinated linker was found to fully replace the capping acetate in the defective sites of pristine MOF-801. CO₂ and N₂ adsorption isotherms collected on all samples reveal that both CO₂ thermodynamic affinity (isosteric heat of adsorption at zero coverage, Q_st) and CO₂/N₂ adsorption selectivity increase with the amount of incorporated TFS^2-, reaching the maximum values of 30 kJ mol^-1 and 41 (IAST), respectively, in PF-MOF2. This confirms the beneficial effect coming from the introduction of fluorinated linkers in MOFs on their CO₂ adsorption ability. Finally, solid-state density functional theory calculations were carried out to cast light on the structural features and on the thermodynamics of CO₂ adsorption in MOF-801 and ZrTFS. Due to the difficulties in modeling a defective MOF, an intermediate structure containing both linkers in the framework was also designed. In this structure, the preferential CO₂ adsorption site is the tetrahedral pore in the "UiO-66-like" structure. The extra energy stabilization stems from a hydrogen bond interaction between CO₂ and a hydroxyl group on the inorganic cluster.

Harvesting mechanical energy for hydrogen generation by piezoelectric metal-organic frameworks

Piezocatalysis, the process of directly converting mechanical energy into chemical energy, has emerged as a promising alternative strategy for green H₂ production. Nevertheless, conventional inorganic piezoelectric materials suffer from limited structural tailorability and small surface area, which greatly impedes their mechanically driven catalytic efficiency. Herein, we design and fabricate a novel UiO-66(Zr)-F₄ metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheet for piezocatalytic water splitting, with the highest H₂ evolution rate reaching 178.5 μmol g^-1 within 5 h under ultrasonic vibration excitation (110 W, 40 kHz), far exceeding that of the original UiO-66 host. A reduced bandgap from 2.78 to 2.43 eV is achieved after introducing a fluorinated ligand. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements demonstrate a much stronger piezoelectric response for UiO-66(Zr)-F₄, which may result from the polarity of the introduced fluorinated ligand. This work highlights the potential of MOF-based porous piezoelectric nanomaterials in harvesting mechanical energy to drive chemical reactions such as water splitting.

Insights into the Solid-State Synthesis of Defect-Rich Zr-UiO-66

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a new type of porous material, have shown many possible applications in gas storage and separation, biomedicine, catalysis, and so on. While most MOFs are synthesized through solvothermal synthesis where a large quantity of organic solvent is used, the green synthetic approach using a minimized amount of solvent is important to prevent irreversible environmental compacts. In this study, we successfully synthesized Zr-MOFs with SBUs (e.g., UiO-66 and MIL-140A) using a simple metal source and investigated the role of organic modulators in modulating the MOF structures during solid-state synthesis. Meanwhile, UiO-66 rich in defects synthesized via a solid-state conversion strategy shows good catalytic performance for the ring-opening of epoxides with alcohols. This work contributes to the understanding of the role of organic modulators in the solid-state synthesis of MOFs.

Tailored Linker Defects in UiO-67 with High Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer toward Efficient Photoreduction of CO2

Defect engineering can be used as a potential tool to activate metal-organic frameworks by regulating the pore structure, electronic properties, and catalytic activity. Herein, linker defects were effectively controlled by adjusting the amount of formic acid, and UiO-67 with different CO₂ reduction capabilities was obtained. Among them, UiO-67-200 had the highest ability to selectively reduce CO₂ to CO (12.29 μmol g^-1 h^-1). On the one hand, the results based on time-resolved photoluminescence decay curves and photochemical experiments revealed that UiO-67-200 had the highest charge separation efficiency. On the other hand, the linker defects affected the band structure of UiO-67 by changing the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) based on the density functional theory and UV-vis spectra. Hence, the proper linker defects enhanced the ligand-to-metal charge transfer process by promoting the transfer of electrons between the highest occupied molecular orbital and LUMO. Additionally, in situ Fourier transform infrared spectra and ¹³CO₂ labeling experiments also indicated that COOH* was an important intermediate for CO formation and that CO originated from the photoreduction of CO₂.

The chemistry behind room temperature synthesis of hafnium and cerium UiO-66 derivatives

RT formation of Hf and Ce UiO-66 derivatives is investigated using a one-step method where the linker and metal salt are simply combined, and a two-step method where the inorganic component is pre-heated to form metal clusters.