Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering measurements have been applied to evaluate the breathing phenomena in small nanocrystals of ZIF-7 upon gas adsorption.

The elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at low concentration is a subject of great interest because these compounds are very harmful for the environment and human health. In this work, we have developed a synthesis methodology of TiO2 that allows obtaining meso-macroporous materials with hierarchical porosity and with high thermal stability for their application as photocatalysts in the removal of VOCs, specifically propene. The materials synthesized in this work were characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG), and nitrogen adsorption. It is observed that the samples calcined at 250 °C and 500 °C present a high photoactivity for the photooxidation of propene, which is similar to the benchmark material P25 (commercial TiO2). Moreover, the textural properties are better than those for P25, indicating that the samples are interesting for the preparation of photocatalysts with different conformations, such as in the form of coatings and fillings in different size scales.

Despite the vast number of publication dealing with ZIF‐8, the performance of this zeolitic MOF upon adsorption is still a matter of debate. The understanding of its adsorption properties its of great importance to define its potential in aplications such as gas separation, sensing and catalytic processes. Using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) upon exposure to different probe molecules we get further insight about the adsortion performance at cryogenic temperatures, including the possible swinging of the imidazolate linkers.

One of the main concerns in the technological application of several metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) relates to their structural instability under pressure (after a conforming step). Here we report for the first time that mechanical instability can be highly improved via nucleation and growth of MOF nanocrystals in the confined nanospace of activated carbons.