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Tarzia A, Wolpert EH, Jelfs KE, Pavan GM. Systematic exploration of accessible topologies of cage molecules via minimalistic models. Chem Sci 2023; 14:12506-12517. [PMID: 38020374 PMCID: PMC10646940 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc03991a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cages are macrocyclic structures with an intrinsic internal cavity that support applications in separations, sensing and catalysis. These materials can be synthesised via self-assembly of organic or metal-organic building blocks. Their bottom-up synthesis and the diversity in building block chemistry allows for fine-tuning of their shape and properties towards a target property. However, it is not straightforward to predict the outcome of self-assembly, and, thus, the structures that are practically accessible during synthesis. Indeed, such a prediction becomes more difficult as problems related to the flexibility of the building blocks or increased combinatorics lead to a higher level of complexity and increased computational costs. Molecular models, and their coarse-graining into simplified representations, may be very useful to this end. Here, we develop a minimalistic toy model of cage-like molecules to explore the stable space of different cage topologies based on a few fundamental geometric building block parameters. Our results capture, despite the simplifications of the model, known geometrical design rules in synthetic cage molecules and uncover the role of building block coordination number and flexibility on the stability of cage topologies. This leads to a large-scale and systematic exploration of design principles, generating data that we expect could be analysed through expandable approaches towards the rational design of self-assembled porous architectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Tarzia
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
| | - Emma H Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Kim E Jelfs
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Giovanni M Pavan
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
- Department of Innovative Technologies, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Polo Universitario Lugano Campus Est, Via la Santa 1 6962 Lugano-Viganello Switzerland
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2
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Wolpert EH, Tarzia A, Jelfs KE. The effect of disorder in multi-component covalent organic frameworks. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023. [PMID: 37199452 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc01111a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
We examined the effect of two different types of linker distribution-random or correlated distribution-on the pore size and shape within single-layers of three multi-component COFs. We reveal a relationship between linker distribution and the porosity of COF solid solutions. The methods presented in this paper are generalisable and could be used in further studies to examine the properties of disordered framework materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma H Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
| | - Andrew Tarzia
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino 10129, Italy
| | - Kim E Jelfs
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
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3
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Wade J, Salerno F, Kilbride RC, Kim DK, Schmidt JA, Smith JA, LeBlanc LM, Wolpert EH, Adeleke AA, Johnson ER, Nelson J, Mori T, Jelfs KE, Heutz S, Fuchter MJ. Controlling anisotropic properties by manipulating the orientation of chiral small molecules. Nat Chem 2022; 14:1383-1389. [PMID: 36302869 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01044-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Chiral π-conjugated molecules bring new functionality to technological applications and represent an exciting, rapidly expanding area of research. Their functional properties, such as the absorption and emission of circularly polarized light or the transport of spin-polarized electrons, are highly anisotropic. As a result, the orientation of chiral molecules critically determines the functionality and efficiency of chiral devices. Here we present a strategy to control the orientation of a small chiral molecule (2,2'-dicyano[6]helicene) by the use of organic and inorganic templating layers. Such templating layers can either force 2,2'-dicyano[6]helicene to adopt a face-on orientation and self-assemble into upright supramolecular columns oriented with their helical axis perpendicular to the substrate, or an edge-on orientation with parallel-lying supramolecular columns. Through such control, we show that low- and high-energy chiroptical responses can be independently 'turned on' or 'turned off'. The templating methodologies described here provide a simple way to engineer orientational control and, by association, anisotropic functional properties of chiral molecular systems for a range of emerging technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Wade
- Department of Materials and London Centre for Nanotechnology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK.
| | - Francesco Salerno
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Rachel C Kilbride
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Dong Kuk Kim
- Department of Materials and London Centre for Nanotechnology, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Julia A Schmidt
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Joel A Smith
- Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Luc M LeBlanc
- Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Emma H Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Adebayo A Adeleke
- Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Erin R Johnson
- Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Jenny Nelson
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Tadashi Mori
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Kim E Jelfs
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sandrine Heutz
- Department of Materials and London Centre for Nanotechnology, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Matthew J Fuchter
- Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK.
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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4
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Wolpert EH, Jelfs KE. Coarse-grained modelling to predict the packing of porous organic cages. Chem Sci 2022; 13:13588-13599. [PMID: 36507173 PMCID: PMC9683088 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc04511g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
How molecules pack has vital ramifications for their applications as functional molecular materials. Small changes in a molecule's functionality can lead to large, non-intuitive, changes in their global solid-state packing, resulting in difficulty in targeted design. Predicting the crystal structure of organic molecules from only their molecular structure is a well-known problem plaguing crystal engineering. Although relevant to the properties of many organic molecules, the packing behaviour of modular porous materials, such as porous organic cages (POCs), greatly impacts the properties of the material. We present a novel way of predicting the solid-state phase behaviour of POCs by using a simplistic model containing the dominant degrees of freedom driving crystalline phase formation. We employ coarse-grained simulations to systematically study how chemical functionality of pseudo-octahedral cages can be used to manipulate the solid-state phase formation of POCs. Our results support those of experimentally reported structures, showing that for cages which pack via their windows forming a porous network, only one phase is formed, whereas when cages pack via their windows and arenes, the phase behaviour is more complex. While presenting a lower computational cost route for predicting molecular crystal packing, coarse-grained models also allow for the development of design rules which we start to formulate through our results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma H. Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research HubWhite City Campus, Wood LaneLondonW12 0BZUK+44 (0)20759 43438
| | - Kim E. Jelfs
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research HubWhite City Campus, Wood LaneLondonW12 0BZUK+44 (0)20759 43438
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5
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Bechis I, Sapnik AF, Tarzia A, Wolpert EH, Addicoat MA, Keen DA, Bennett TD, Jelfs KE. Modeling the Effect of Defects and Disorder in Amorphous Metal-Organic Frameworks. Chem Mater 2022; 34:9042-9054. [PMID: 36313398 PMCID: PMC9609304 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c01528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Amorphous metal-organic frameworks (aMOFs) are a class of disordered framework materials with a defined local order given by the connectivity between inorganic nodes and organic linkers, but absent long-range order. The rational development of function for aMOFs is hindered by our limited understanding of the underlying structure-property relationships in these systems, a consequence of the absence of long-range order, which makes experimental characterization particularly challenging. Here, we use a versatile modeling approach to generate in silico structural models for an aMOF based on Fe trimers and 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) linkers, Fe-BTC. We build a phase space for this material that includes nine amorphous phases with different degrees of defects and local order. These models are analyzed through a combination of structural analysis, pore analysis, and pair distribution functions. Therefore, we are able to systematically explore the effects of the variation of each of these features, both in isolation and combined, for a disordered MOF system, something that would not be possible through experiment alone. We find that the degree of local order has a greater impact on structure and properties than the degree of defects. The approach presented here is versatile and allows for the study of different structural features and MOF chemistries, enabling the derivation of design rules for the rational development of aMOFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Bechis
- Department
of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub,
White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Adam F. Sapnik
- Department
of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS, U.K.
| | - Andrew Tarzia
- Department
of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub,
White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Emma H. Wolpert
- Department
of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub,
White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Matthew A. Addicoat
- School
of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent
University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 8NS, U.K.
| | - David A. Keen
- ISIS
Neutron and Muon Facility, Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, U.K.
| | - Thomas D. Bennett
- Department
of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS, U.K.
| | - Kim E. Jelfs
- Department
of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub,
White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
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6
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Abstract
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Novel functional materials are urgently needed to help
combat the
major global challenges facing humanity, such as climate change and
resource scarcity. Yet, the traditional experimental materials discovery
process is slow and the material space at our disposal is too vast
to effectively explore using intuition-guided experimentation alone.
Most experimental materials discovery programs necessarily focus on
exploring the local space of known materials, so we are not fully
exploiting the enormous potential material space, where more novel
materials with unique properties may exist. Computation, facilitated
by improvements in open-source software and databases, as well as
computer hardware has the potential to significantly accelerate the
rational development of materials, but all too often is only used
to postrationalize experimental observations. Thus, the true predictive
power of computation, where theory leads experimentation, is not fully
utilized. Here, we discuss the challenges to successful implementation
of computation-driven materials discovery workflows, and then focus
on the progress of the field, with a particular emphasis on the challenges
to reaching novel materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin M Mroz
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Victor Posligua
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Andrew Tarzia
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Emma H Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Kim E Jelfs
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, U.K
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7
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Wolpert EH, Goodwin AL. Polytypism in layered AB
2 solids. Acta Crystallogr A Found Adv 2021. [DOI: 10.1107/s0108767321090553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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8
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Wolpert EH, Coudert FX, Goodwin AL. MOFs as hosts to analogues of complex magnetic phases. Acta Crystallogr A Found Adv 2021. [DOI: 10.1107/s0108767321093284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
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9
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Reynolds E, Wolpert EH, Overy AR, Mizzi L, Simonov A, Grima JN, Kaskel S, Goodwin AL. Function from configurational degeneracy in disordered framework materials. Faraday Discuss 2021; 225:241-254. [PMID: 33089859 DOI: 10.1039/d0fd00008f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We develop the concepts of combinatorial mechanics, adaptive flexibility, and error-correcting codes as applications of disordered framework materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M. Reynolds
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Oxford
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- Oxford OX1 3QR
- UK
| | - Emma H. Wolpert
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Oxford
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- Oxford OX1 3QR
- UK
| | - Alistair R. Overy
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Oxford
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- Oxford OX1 3QR
- UK
| | - Luke Mizzi
- Metamaterials Unit
- Faculty of Science
- University of Malta
- Msida MSD 2080
- Malta
| | - Arkadiy Simonov
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Oxford
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- Oxford OX1 3QR
- UK
| | - Joseph N. Grima
- Metamaterials Unit
- Faculty of Science
- University of Malta
- Msida MSD 2080
- Malta
| | - Stefan Kaskel
- Department of Chemistry
- Technische Universität Dresden
- 01062 Dresden
- Germany
| | - Andrew L. Goodwin
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Oxford
- Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
- Oxford OX1 3QR
- UK
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