Over 14 000 porous, three-dimensional metal–organic framework structures are compiled and analyzed as a part of an update to the Computation-Ready, Experimental Metal–Organic Framework Database (CoRE MOF Database). The updated database includes additional structures that were contributed by CoRE MOF users, obtained from updates of the Cambridge Structural Database and a Web of Science search, and derived through semiautomated reconstruction of disordered structures using a topology-based crystal generator. In addition, value is added to the CoRE MOF database through new analyses that can speed up future nanoporous materials discovery activities, including open metal site detection and duplicate searches. Crystal structures (only for the subset that underwent significant changes during curation), pore analytics, and physical property data are included with the publicly available CoRE MOF 2019 database.

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Extensive ab initio calculations were employed to characterize stable conformers of gaseous arginine, both the canonical and zwitterionic tautomers. Step-by-step geometry optimizations of possible single-bond rotamers at the B3LYP/6-31G(d), B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p), and MP2/6-31++G(d,p) levels yield numerous structures that are more stable than any known ones. The final electronic energies of the conformers were determined at the CCSD/6-31++G(d,p) level. The lowest energies of the canonical and zwitterionic structures are lower than the existing values by 2.0 and 2.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The relative energies, rotational constants, dipole moments, and harmonic frequencies of the stable conformers remain for future experimental verification. The conformational distributions at various temperatures, estimated according to thermodynamic principles, consist almost exclusively of the newly found structures. One striking feature is the occurrence of blue-shifting hydrogen bonds in all six of the most stable conformers. A unique feature of important conformations is the coexistence of dihydrogen and blue- and red-shifting hydrogen bonds. In addition to the hydrogen bonds, the stereoelectronic effects were also found to be important stabilization factors. The calculated and measured proton affinities agree within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties, affirming the high quality of our conformational search. The theoretical gas-phase basicity of 245.9 kcal/mol is also in good agreement with the experimental value of 240.6 kcal/mol. The extensive searches establish firmly that gaseous arginine exists primarily in the canonical and not the zwitterionic form.

The metal–organic framework (MOF) material UiO-66 has emerged as one of the most promising MOF materials due to its thermal and chemical stability and its potential for catalytic applications. We refine a recent experimental determination of the missing linker defect structure using static and dynamic first principles approaches, which reveals a dynamic and labile acid centre that could be tailored for functional applications in catalysis.

For applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) such as gas storage and separation, flexibility is often seen as a parameter that can tune material performance. In this work we aim to determine the optimal flexibility for the shape selective separation of similarly sized molecules (e.g., Xe/Kr mixtures). To obtain systematic insight into how the flexibility impacts this type of separation, we develop a simple analytical model that predicts a material’s Henry regime adsorption and selectivity as a function of flexibility. We elucidate the complex dependence of selectivity on a framework’s intrinsic flexibility whereby performance is either improved or reduced with increasing flexibility, depending on the material’s pore size characteristics. However, the selectivity of a material with the pore size and chemistry that already maximizes selectivity in the rigid approximation is continuously diminished with increasing flexibility, demonstrating that the globally optimal separation exists within an entirely rigid pore. Molecular simulations show that our simple model predicts performance trends that are observed when screening the adsorption behavior of flexible MOFs. These flexible simulations provide better agreement with experimental adsorption data in a high-performance material that is not captured when modeling this framework as rigid, an approximation typically made in high-throughput screening studies. We conclude that, for shape selective adsorption applications, the globally optimal material will have the optimal pore size/chemistry and minimal intrinsic flexibility even though other nonoptimal materials’ selectivity can actually be improved by flexibility. Equally important, we find that flexible simulations can be critical for correctly modeling adsorption in these types of systems.

It is quite challenging to realize fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two chromophores with specific positions and directions. Herein, through the self-assembly of two carefully selected fluorescent ligands via metal-coordination interactions, we prepared two tetragonal prismatic platinum(II) cages with a reverse FRET process between their faces and pillars. Bearing different responses to external stimuli, these two emissive ligands are able to tune the FRET process, thus making the cages sensitive to solvents, pressure, and temperature. First, these cages could distinguish structurally similar alcohols such as n-butanol, t-butanol, and ibutanol. Furthermore, they showed decreased emission with bathochromic shifts under high pressure. Finally, they exhibited a remarkable ratiometric response to temperature over a wide range (223-353 K) with high sensitivity. For example, by plotting the ratio of the maximum emission (I 600 /I 480 ) of metallacage 4b against the temperature, the slope reaches 0.072, which is among the highest values for ratiometric fluorescent thermometers reported so far. This work not only offers a strategy to manipulate the FRET efficiency in emissive supramolecular coordination complexes but also paves the way for the future design and preparation of smart emissive materials with external stimuli responsiveness.

We predict that in aluminosilicate zeolites, non-Löwenstein Al–O–Al sequences are favoured in the presence of protons and disfavoured when Na+ ions are the charge compensating species.

Here we report two highly emissive perylene diimide (PDI)-based metallacages and explore their complexation with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as pyrene, triphenylene and perylene. The fluorescence quantum yields of metallacages exceed 90% and their binding constants with perylene can reach as high as 2.41 × 10 4 M -1 in acetonitrile. These features enable further tuning of the emission of the host-guest complexes to obtain white-light emission based on the complementary orange emission of the metallacages and the blue emission of perylene. Moreover, owing to the huge differences of their quantum yields in solution and in the solid state, the hostguest complexes are successfully employed for information encryption. This study offers a general approach for the construction of emissive metallacages and explores their application for information encryption.