Crystal size versus paddle wheel deformability: selective gated adsorption transitions of the switchable metal-organic frameworks and † Switchable pillared layer metal-organic frameworks M 2 (2,6-ndc) 2 (dabco) (DUT-8(M), M ¼ Ni, Co, 2,6-ndc ¼ 2,6naphthalenedicarboxylate, dabco ¼ 1,4-diazabicyclo-[2.2.2]octane, DUT -Dresden University of Technology) were synthesised in two different crystallite size regimes to produce particles up to 300 mm and smaller particles around 0.1 mm, respectively. The textural properties and adsorption-induced switchability of the materials, obtained from both syntheses, were studied by physisorption of N 2 at 77 K, CO 2 at 195 K and nbutane at 273 K, revealing pronounced differences in adsorption behavior for Ni and Co analogues. While the smaller nano-sized particles (50-200 nm) are rigid and show no gating transitions confirming the importance of crystallite size, the large particles show pronounced switchability with characteristic differences for the two metals resulting in distinct recognition effects for various gases and vapours. Adsorption of various vapours demonstrates consistently a higher energetic barrier for the "gate opening" of DUT-8(Co) in contrast to , as the "gate opening" pressure for Co based material is shifted to a higher value for adsorption of dichloromethane at 298 K. Evaluation of crystallographic data, obtained from single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analysis, showed distinct geometric differences in the paddle wheel units of the respective MOFs.These differences are further disclosed by solid-state UV-vis, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Magnetic properties of DUT-8(Co) and DUT-8(Ni) were investigated, indicating a high-spin state for both materials at room temperature. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations confirmed distinct energetic differences for Ni and Co analogues with a higher energetic penalty for the structural "gate opening" transformation for DUT-8(Co) compared to DUT-8(Ni) explaining the different flexibility behaviour of these isomorphous MOFs.underlying structural phase transitions are triggered by adsorption or desorption of guest molecules and generally characterised by an activation energy barrier, which causes hysteresis in physisorption experiments. Due to their switchable nature, so porous crystals are oen discussed as materials with huge application potential in gas storage, 11 separation processes, 12,13 sensor technology 14,15 and catalysis. 16 Despite rapidly growing research in the eld of exible MOFs, 1,17-21 the role of critical factors inuencing and controlling framework switchability are barely understood. 22 As MOFs are modular networks, the exibility of the linker but also the hinges of the metal node are key features that affect switchability. The importance of metal-node hinges and their energetics for framework switchability has been widely investigated for compounds such as M(bdp) (M ¼ Co, Fe, bdp ¼ 1,4-benzenedipyrazolate), 11,23,24 M(m-OH)(bdc) (MIL-53, M ¼ Cr, Al, Fe, bdc ¼ 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)...

The microcrystals of monoclinic europium molybdate, α-Eu 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 , have been fabricated by solid-state synthesis at T = 753−1273 K for 300 h. The crystal structure of α-Eu 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 has been refined by the Rietveld method and was found to belong to the space group C2/c with unit cell parameters a = 7.5576(1), b = 11.4709(2), c = 11.5158(2) Å, and β = 109.278(1)°(R B = 3.39%). About 40 narrow Raman lines have been observed in the Raman spectrum of the α-Eu 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 powder sample. The luminescence spectra of α-Eu 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 under excitation at 355 and 457.9 nm reveal domination of induced electric dipole transition 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 and the presence of ultranarrow lines at 5 D 0 → 7 F 0 and 5 D 1 → 7 F 0 transitions.

The effects of the molar ratio of sodium sulfide to chloroauric acid in the range of 0.5 to 5 and the time factor on the formation of the nanoparticles (NPs) of metallic Au, Au(2)S or their mixtures have been studied applying in situ and ex situ techniques (UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, potentiometry, TEM, SPM, SERS, XPS). The products and intermediates have been compared with those for the reduction of chloroaurate with citrate ions and combinations of citrate and sulfide ions. An increase in the concentration of sulfide ions accelerates the reduction of Au(iii) complexes but hinders the nucleation and growth of Au NPs, resulting in a prolonged period before the appearance of plasmon peaks. The electrochemical potential is not directly associated with the plasmon intensities, although the potential sharply decreases simultaneously with a blue shift of the near-IR peak emerging with the Na(2)S/HAuCl(4) ratios of 0.5 to 1.5. It was concluded that the peak is due to longitudinal plasmon resonance of gold nanoplates. Au(2)S NPs, the nucleation of which is effectively inhibited, and probably some structures and fragments visible in TEM and AFM, including 2-5 nm Au NPs, crystallize in part outside the solutions. The evidence of partially liquid mesoscale structures comprising intermediate gold species as precursors of nanoparticles is presented, and their origin, ex situ transformation and role in the reaction mechanisms are discussed.

A series of extended reversible phase transitions at approximately 0.1, 1.5, 2.0, and approximately 5 GPa was observed for the first time in the crystals of dl-cysteine by Raman spectroscopy. These are the first examples of the phase transitions induced by increasing pressure in the racemic crystal of an amino acid. In the crystals of the orthorhombic l-cysteine, a sequence of reversible structural changes in the pressure range between 1.1 and 3 GPa could be observed by Raman spectroscopy, instead of a single sharp phase transition at 1.9 GPa reported previously in ( Moggach, et al. Acta Crystallogr. 2006, B62, 296- 309 ). The role of the movements of the side -CH 2SH groups and of the changes in the hydrogen-bonding type in dl- and l-cysteine during the phase transitions with increasing pressure is discussed and compared with that on cooling down to 3 K.

New noncentrosymmetric double borate Rb3EuB6O12 was synthesized by solid state reaction method, and their crystallographic parameters were obtained by Rietveld analysis. This borate crystallizes in the trigonal space group R32 with cell parameters of a = 13.4604(2) Å, c = 30.7981(5) Å, Z = 15. Their structure features a three-dimensional framework composed of [B5O10] 5groups that are bridged by Eu-O polyhedra. The existence of B5O10 group in the structure was confirmed by vibrational spectroscopy. Rb3EuB6O12 melts incongruently at 1101 K. The second harmonic generation effect of Rb3EuB6O12 is 16 times higher than that of α-quartz standard. In the luminescence spectrum, the domination of a single prominent narrow line from hypersensitive 5 D0-7 F2 manifold of Eu 3+ ions is observed, while 5 D0-7 F1 manifold and ultranarrow 5 D0-7 F0 line are of comparable peak intensity. These features are explained by specific local symmetry of Eu ion within the crystal structure of Rb3EuB6O12..

Low-frequency lattice vibrational modes have been discussed to play a crucial role in the phase transformation process of flexible metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Therefore, Raman spectroscopy was applied to study the lattice dynamics of a pillared layer Moreover, the directional character of low-frequency vibrations in the flexible version of could be visualized by the orientation dependent Raman spectroscopy experiment.

Silver–europium double sulfate AgEu­(SO4)2 was obtained by solid-phase reaction between Ag2SO4 and Eu2(SO4)3. The crystal structure of AgEu­(SO4)2 was determined by Monte Carlo method with simulated annealing, and after that, it was refined by the Rietveld method from X-ray powder diffraction data. The compound crystallizes in the triclinic symmetry, space group P1̅ (a = 0.632929(4), b = 0.690705(4), c = 0.705467(4) nm, α = 98.9614(4), β = 84.5501(4), γ = 88.8201(4)°, V = 0.303069(3) nm3). Two types of sulfate tetrahedra were found in the structure, which significantly affects the spectroscopic properties in the IR-range. In the temperature range of 143–703 K, the average linear thermal expansion coefficients of cell parameters a, b, and c are very similar, (1.11–1.67) × 10–5 K–1 in magnitude, and therefore, AgEu­(SO4)2 expands almost isotropically. Upon heating in argon flow, AgEu­(SO4)2 is stable up to 1053 K. The luminescence spectra in the region of ultranarrow 5D0–7F0 transition contain a single narrow and symmetric line at 579.5 nm that is evidence of good crystalline quality of AgEu­(SO4)2 and uniform local environment of Eu3+ ions in the structure. Distribution of luminescence bands is determined by the environment of Eu3+ ions in the structure. Influence of Ag+ ions on the electron density distribution at Eu sites is detected.

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