No abstract

Modulation of pore environment is an effective strategy to optimize guest binding in porous materials.

Controlled assembly of two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular organic frameworks (SOFs) has been demonstrated through a binary strategy in which 1,4-bis-(4-(3,5-dicyano-2,6-dipyridyl)pyridyl)naphthalene (2), generated in situ by oxidative dehydrogenation of 1,4-bis-(4-(3,5-dicyano-2,6-dipyridyl)dihydropyridyl)naphthalene (1), is coupled in a 1:1 ratio with terphenyl-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic acid (3; to form SOF-8), 5,5′-(anthracene-9,10-diyl)diisophthalic acid (4; to form SOF-9), or 5,5′-bis-(azanediyl)-oxalyl-diisophthalic acid (5; to form SOF-10). Complementary O–H···N hydrogen bonds assemble 2D 63-hcb (honeycomb) subunits that pack as layers in SOF-8 to give a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular network with parallel channels hosting guest DMF (DMF = N,N′-dimethylformamide) molecules. SOF-9 and SOF-10 feature supramolecular networks of 2D → 3D inclined polycatenation of similar hcb layers as those in SOF-8. Although SOF-8 suffers framework collapse upon guest removal, the polycatenated frameworks of SOF-9 and SOF-10 exhibit excellent chemical and thermal stability, solvent/moisture durability, and permanent porosity. Moreover, their corresponding desolvated (activated) samples SOF-9a and SOF-10a display enhanced adsorption and selectivity for CO2 over N2 and CH4. The structures of these activated compounds are well described by quantum chemistry calculations, which have allowed us to determine their mechanical properties, as well as identify their soft deformation modes and a large number of low-energy vibration modes. These results not only demonstrate an effective synthetic platform for porous organic molecular materials stabilized solely by primary hydrogen bonds but also suggest a viable means to build robust SOF materials with enhanced gas uptake capacity and selectivity.

CO2 binding and separation using porous MFM-300(VIII) has been fully studied.

The binding domains within a mixed matrix membrane (MMM) that is selective for CO comprising MFM-300(Al) and the polymer 6FDA-Durene-DABA have been established via in situ synchrotron IR microspectroscopy. The MOF crystals are fully accessible and play a critical role in the binding of CO, creating a selective pathway to promote permeation of CO within and through the MMM. This study reveals directly the molecular mechanism for the overall enhanced performance of this MMM in terms of permeability, solubility and selectivity for CO.