Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a chemically and topologically diverse family of materials composed of inorganic nodes and organic linkers bound together by coordination bonds. Presented here are two significant innovations in this field. The first is the use of a new coordination group, phenylene-1,4-bis(methylphosphinic acid) (PBPA), a phosphinic acid analogue of the commonly used terephtalic acid. Use of this new linker group leads to the formation of a hydrothermally stable and permanently porous MOF structure. The second innovation is the application of electron-diffraction tomography, coupled with dynamic refinement of the EDT data, to the elucidation of the structure of the new material, including the localization of hydrogen atoms.

The photophysics of the two isomers of octadecaborane(22), anti- and syn-B18H22, have been studied by UV–vis spectroscopic techniques and theoretical computational methods. In air-saturated hexane, anti-B18H22 shows fluorescence with a high quantum yield, ΦF = 0.97, and singlet oxygen O2(1Δg) production (ΦΔ ∼ 0.008). Conversely, isomer syn-B18H22 shows no measurable fluorescence, instead displaying much faster, picosecond nonradiative decay of excited singlet states. Computed potential energy hypersurfaces (PEHs) for both isomers rationalize these data, pointing to a deep S1 minimum for anti-B18H22 and a conical intersection (CI) between its S0 and S1 states that lies 0.51 eV higher in energy. Such an energy barrier to nonradiative relaxation is not present in the PEH of syn-B18H22, and the system therefore has sufficient initial energy on excitation to reach the (S0/S1) CI and to then decay to the ground state without fluorescence. The computational analysis of the geometries at stationary points along the PEH of both isomers shows that the determining factor for the dissimilar photophysics of anti- and syn-B18H22 may be due to the significant differences in the geometrical rearrangements at their respective conical intersections. Thus, the syn isomer shows one very large, B–B elongation of 1.2 Å from 1.8 Å in the ground state to 3.0 Å at the CI, whereas the anti isomer shows smaller elongations (below 1 Å) in several B–B connectivities at its (S0/S1)CI. The absorbed energy in S1 for the anti-B18H22 is therefore redistributed vibrationally into several regions of the molecule rather than almost completely into a single vibrational mode as in the case for the syn isomer. The consequent prolonged S1 lifetime for the anti isomer allows for relaxation via fluorescence.

Emission from electronically excited species forms the basis for an important class of light sources-lasers. So far, commercially available solution-processed blue-emitting laser materials are based on organic compounds or semiconductor nanocrystals that have significant limitations: either low solubility, low chemical-and/or photo-stability and/or uncompetitive prices. Here we report a novel and competitive alternative to these existing laser materials that is based on boron hydrides, inorganic cluster compounds with a rich and diverse chemistry. We demonstrate that solutions of the borane anti-B 18 H 22 show, under pulsed excitation, blue laser emission at 406 nm with an efficiency (ratio of output/input energies) of 9.5%, and a photostability superior to many of the commercially available state-of-the-art blue laser dyes. This demonstration opens the doors for the development of a whole new class of laser materials based on a previously untapped resource for laser technology-the boranes.

B18H20(NC5H5)2 is a rare example of two conjoined boron hydride subclusters of nido and arachno geometrical character. At room temperature, solutions of B18H20(NC5H5)2 emit a 690 nm fluorescence. In the solid state, this emission is shifted to 620 nm and intensifies due to restriction of the rotation of the pyridine ligands. In addition, there is a thermochromicity to the fluorescence of B18H20(NC5H5)2. Cooling to 8 K engenders a further shift in the emission wavelength to 585 nm and a twofold increase in intensity. Immobilization in a polystyrene thin‐film matrix results in an efficient absorption of pumping excitation energy at 414 nm and a 609 nm photostable fluorescence. Such fluorescence from polystyrene thin films containing B18H20(NC5H5)2 can also be stimulated by emission from the highly fluorescent borane anti‐B18H22 via energy transfer mechanisms. Polystyrene thin‐film membranes doped with 1:1 mixtures of anti‐B18H22 and B18H20(NC5H5)2 thus emit a 609 nm fluorescence and absorb light across more than 300 nm (250–550 nm); this is a significant spectral coverage possibly useful for luminescent solar concentrators. B18H20(NC5H5)2 is fully structurally characterized using NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis, and its ground‐state and excited‐state photophysics are investigated with UV–vis spectroscopy and quantum‐chemistry computational methods.

The preparation and characterization of micrometer gold and silver single-crystals of well-defined shapes are reported here. The shapes of the crystals can be described as plates, polyhedra, and wires. The orientation of the crystal faces was studied using electron and X-ray powder diffraction techniques, and a (111) orientation of the large faces of gold plates was experimentally shown. The surface morphology of the crystal faces was studied by atomic force microscopy. Modifications of gold microplates with the thiolated carborane clusters 1,2-(HS)2-1,2-C2B10H10 (1), 9,12-(HS)2-1,2-C2B10H10 (2), and 1,12-(HS)2-1,12-C2B10H10 (3) are described. The carboranethiol molecules 1 and 2 show dipole moments of 4.1 and 5.9 D. In comparison, the thiolate derivative of compound 1 has a dipole moment of 4.7 D in the opposite direction to 1, and the thiolate form of compound 2 has a dipole moment of 16.7 D in the same direction. On the basis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses and values of work functions, we revealed that the molecules of 1 and 2 attached to the gold surface have similar electron distribution and dipole moments as within the free thiol derivatives. Following the modification of microplate gold crystals with 3, a monolayer of gold nanoparticles was attached on top of the carborane moieties. The composition of the surface species was studied using XPS. Dynamic contact angles of water on the modified gold surfaces are also discussed.