No Arabic abstract
We combine infrared spectroscopy, nano-indentation measurements, and emph{ab initio} simulations to study the evolution of structural, elastic, thermal, and electronic responses of the metal organic framework MOF-74-Zn when loaded with H$_2$, CO$_2$, CH$_4$, and H$_2$O. We find that the molecular adsorption in this MOF triggers remarkable responses in all of these properties of the host material, with specific signatures for each of the guest molecules. With this comprehensive study we are able to clarify and correlate the underlying mechanisms regulating these responses with changes of the physical and chemical environment. Our findings suggest that metal organic framework materials in general, and MOF-74-Zn in particular, can be very promising materials for novel transducers and sensor applications, including highly selective small-molecule detection in gas mixtures.
Metal-organic frameworks show both fundamental interest and great promise for applications in adsorption-based technologies, such as the separation and storage of gases. The flexibility and complexity of the molecular scaffold poses a considerable challenge to atomistic modeling, especially when also considering the presence of guest molecules. We investigate the role played by quantum and anharmonic fluctuations in the archetypical case of MOF-5, comparing the material at various levels of methane loading. Accurate path integral simulations of such effects are made affordable by the introduction of an accelerated simulation scheme and the use of an optimized force field based on first-principles reference calculations. We find that the level of statistical treatment that is required for predictive modeling depends significantly on the property of interest. The thermal properties of the lattice are generally well described by a quantum harmonic treatment, with the adsorbate behaving in a classical but strongly anharmonic manner. The heat capacity of the loaded framework - which plays an important role in the characterization of the framework and in determining its stability to thermal fluctuations during adsorption/desorption cycles - requires, however, a full quantum and anharmonic treatment, either by path integral methods or by a simple but approximate scheme. We also present molecular-level insight into the nanoscopic interactions contributing to the materials properties and suggest design principles to optimize them
Combining first-principles density functional theory simulations with IR and Raman experiments, we determine the frequency shift of vibrational modes of CO2 when physiadsorbed in the iso-structural metal organic framework materials Mg-MOF74 and Zn-MOF74. Surprisingly, we find that the resulting change in shift is rather different for these two systems and we elucidate possible reasons. We explicitly consider three factors responsible for the frequency shift through physiabsorption, namely (i) the change in the molecule length, (ii) the asymmetric distortion of the CO$_2$ molecule, and (iii) the direct influence of the metal center. The influence of each factor is evaluated separately through different geometry considerations, providing a fundamental understanding of the frequency shifts observed experimentally.
Herein we employed high-resolution spectroscopic techniques in combination with periodic ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations to establish the different polarization processes for a porous copper-based MOF, termed HKUST-1. We used alternating current measurements to determine its dielectric response between 4 Hz and 1.5 MHz where orientational polarization is predominant, while synchrotron infrared (IR) reflectance was used to probe the far-IR, mid-IR, and near-IR dielectric response across the 1.2 THz to 150 THz range (ca. 40 - 5000 cm^-1) where vibrational and optical polarizations are principal contributors to its dielectric permittivity. We demonstrate the role of pressure on the evolution of broadband dielectric response, where THz vibrations reveal distinct blue and red shifts of phonon modes from structural deformation of the copper paddle-wheel and the organic linker, respectively. We also investigated the effect of temperature on dielectric constants in the MHz region pertinent to microelectronics, to study temperature-dependent dielectric losses via dissipation in an alternating electric field. The DFT calculations offer insights into the physical mechanisms responsible for dielectric transitions observed in the experiments and enable us to explain the frequency shifts phenomenon detected under pressure. Together, the experiments and theory have enabled us to glimpse into the complex dielectric response and mechanisms underpinning a prototypical MOF subject to pressure, temperature, and vast frequencies.
Thermally-densified hafnium terephthalate UiO-66(Hf) is shown to exhibit the strongest isotropic negative thermal expansion (NTE) effect yet reported for a metal-organic framework (MOF). Incorporation of correlated vacancy defects within the framework affects both the extent of thermal densification and the magnitude of NTE observed in the densified product. We thus demonstrate that defect inclusion can be used to tune systematically the physical behaviour of a MOF.
The processability and optoelectronic properties of organic semiconductors can be tuned and manipulated via chemical design. The substitution of the alkyl side chains by oligoethers has recently been successful for applications such as bioelectronic sensors and photocatalytic water-splitting. The carbon-oxygen bond in oligoethers is likely to render the system softer and more prone to dynamical disorder that can be detrimental to charge transport for example. We use neutron spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy to study the effect of the substitution of n-hexyl (Hex) by triethylene glycol (TEG) on the structural dynamics of two organic semiconductors: a phenylene-bithiophene-phenylene (PTTP) molecule and a fluorene-co-dibenzothiophene (FS) polymer. Counterintuitively, inelastic neutron scattering (INS) reveals a softening of the modes of PTTP and FS with Hex side chains, pointing towards an increased dynamical disorder in these systems. However, T-dependent X-Ray and neutron diffraction, INS and DSC evidence an extra reversible transition close to room temperature (RT) for PTTP with TEG side chains. The observed transition, not accompanied by a change in birefringence, can also be observed by quasi-elastic neutron scattering. A fastening of the TEG side chains dynamics is observed in the case of PTTP and not FS. We therefore assign this transition to the melt of the TEG side chains which are promoting dynamical order at RT, but if crystallising, may introduce an extra reversible structural transition above RT leading to thermal instabilities. A deeper understanding of side chain polarity and structural dynamics can help guide materials design and navigate the intricate balance between electronic charge transport and aqueous swelling, sought for a number of emerging organic electronic and bioelectronic applications.