Shaping the Future of Fuel: Monolithic Metal-Organic Frameworks for High-Density Gas Storage.

The environmental benefits of cleaner, gaseous fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen are widely reported. Yet, practical usage of these fuels is inhibited by current gas storage technology. Here, we discuss the wide-ranging potential of gas-fuels to revolutionize the energy sector and introduce the limitations of current storage technology that prevent this transition from taking place. The practical capabilities of adsorptive gas storage using porous, crystalline metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are examined with regard to recent benchmark results and ultimate storage targets in this field. In particular, the industrial limitations of typically powdered MOFs are discussed while recent breakthroughs in MOF processing are highlighted. We offer our perspective on the future of practical, rather than purely academic, MOF developments in the increasingly critical field of environmental fuel storage

Biocompatible, Crystalline, and Amorphous Bismuth-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Drug Delivery.

The synthetic flexibility of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high loading capacities and biocompatibility makes them ideal candidates as drug delivery systems (DDSs). Here, we report the use of CAU-7, a biocompatible bismuth-based MOF, for the delivery of two cancer drugs, sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) and α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (α-CHC). We achieved loadings of 33 and 9 wt % for DCA and α-CHC, respectively. Interestingly, CAU-7 showed a gradual release of the drugs, achieving a release time of up to 17 days for DCA and 31 days for α-CHC. We then performed mechanical and thermal amorphization processes to attempt to delay the delivery of guest molecules even more. With the thermal treatment, we were able to achieve an outstanding 32% slower release of α-CHC from the thermally treated CAU-7. Using in vitro studies and endocytosis inhibitors, confocal microscopy, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting, we also demonstrated that CAU-7 was successfully internalized by cancer cells, partially avoiding lysosome degradation. Finally, we showed that CAU-7 loaded either with DCA or α-CHC had a higher therapeutic efficiency compared with the free drug approach, making CAU-7 a great option for biomedical application

High-Throughput Screening of Porous Crystalline Materials for Hydrogen Storage Capacity near Room Temperature

The hydrogen storage capabilities of 18,383 porous crystalline structures possessing various degrees of Mg functionalization and diverse physical properties were assessed through combined grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and quantum mechanical approaches. GCMC simulations were performed for pressures of 2 and 100 bar at a temperature of 243 K. Absolute uptake at 100 bar and deliverable capacity between 100 bar and 2 bar were calculated. Maximum absolute and deliverable gravimetric capacities were 9.35 wt% and 9.12 wt % respectively. Volumetrically, absolute and deliverable capacities were 51 g/L and 30 g/L respectively. In addition, the results reveal relationships between hydrogen uptake and the physical properties of the materials. We show that the introduction of an optimum amount of Mg alkoxide to increase the isosteric heat of adsorption is a promising strategy to improve hydrogen uptake and delivery near ambient temperature.This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-08EF15967). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grand No. DGE-0824162 (Y. J. C.). D.F.-J. acknowledges the Royal Society (UK) for a University Research Fellowship. We gratefully acknowledge Northwestern University’s Quest cluster and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center’s Carver Cluster for computer resources.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACS at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp4122326

Trinuclear Cage-Like Zn(II) Macrocyclic Complexes: Enantiomeric Recognition and Gas Adsorption Properties.

Three zinc(II) ions in combination with two units of enantiopure [3+3] triphenolic Schiff-base macrocycles 1, 2, 3, or 4 form cage-like chiral complexes. The formation of these complexes is accompanied by the enantioselective self-recognition of chiral macrocyclic units. The X-ray crystal structures of these trinuclear complexes show hollow metal-organic molecules. In some crystal forms, these barrel-shaped complexes are arranged in a window-to-window fashion, which results in the formation of 1D channels and a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic porosity. The microporous nature of the [Zn3 12 ] complex is reflected in its N2 , Ar, H2 , and CO2 adsorption properties. The N2 and Ar adsorption isotherms show pressure-gating behavior, which is without precedent for any noncovalent porous material. A comparison of the structures of the [Zn3 12 ] and [Zn3 32 ] complexes with that of the free macrocycle H3 1 reveals a striking structural similarity. In H3 1, two macrocyclic units are stitched together by hydrogen bonds to form a cage very similar to that formed by two macrocyclic units stitched together by Zn(II) ions. This structural similarity is manifested also by the gas adsorption properties of the free H3 1 macrocycle. Recrystallization of [Zn3 12 ] in the presence of racemic 2-butanol resulted in the enantioselective binding of (S)-2-butanol inside the cage through the coordination to one of the Zn(II) ions.This work was supported by the NCN (NarodoweCentrumNauki, Poland) (grant 2011/03/B/ST5/01060).D.P.and J.L.thank the FNP Program“Mistrz” for financial support, and D.F.-J. thanks the Royal Society for funding through a University Research Fellowship.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.20150347

Trinuclear Cage-Like ZnII Macrocyclic Complexes: Enantiomeric Recognition and Gas Adsorption Properties

Three zinc(II) ions in combination with two units of enantiopure 3+3 triphenolic Schiff base macrocycles 1, 2, 3 or 4 form cage-like chiral complexes. The formation of these complexes is accompanied by the enantioselective self-recognition of chiral macrocyclic units. The X-ray crystal structures of these trinuclear complexes show hollow metal-organic molecules. In some crystal forms, these barrel-shaped complexes are arranged in a window-to-window fashion which results in formation of 1-D channels and combination of intrinsic porosity with extrinsic porosity. The microporous nature of the [Zn312] complex is reflected in its N2, Ar, H2 and CO2 adsorption properties. The N2 and Ar adsorption isotherms showed pressure gating behaviour which is without precedent for any noncovalent porous material. The comparison of the structures of the [Zn312] and [Zn332] complexes with that of the free macrocycle H31 reveals a striking structural similarity. In the latter compound two macrocyclic units stitched together by hydrogen bonds form a cage very similar to that formed by two macrocyclic units stitched together by Zn(II) ions. This structural similarity is manifested also by the gas adsorption properties of the free H31 macrocycle. Recrystallization of [Zn312] in the presence of racemic 2-butanol results in enantioselective binding of the (S)-2-butanol inside the cage via coordination to one of Zn(II) ions.This work was supported by the NCN (NarodoweCentrumNauki, Poland) (grant 2011/03/B/ST5/01060).D.P.and J.L.thank the FNP Program“Mistrz” for financial support, and D.F.-J. thanks the Royal Society for funding through a University Research Fellowship.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.20150347

Role of crystal size on swing-effect and adsorption induced structure transition of ZIF-8.

The flexibility and structure transition behaviour of ZIF-8 in a series of samples with different particle size has been studied using a combination of high-resolution N2 gas adsorption isotherms and, for the first time, a broad in situ PXRD and Rietveld analysis. During the stepped adsorption process, large particles showed a narrow adsorption/desorption pressure range with a shorter equilibrium time due to lower kinetic hindrance, deriving from higher amount of active sites. In situ PXRD showed that both the rotation of imidazole ring and a bend in the methyl group led to the gate opening of ZIF-8.This work was funded by the EPSRC IAA Partnership Development Award (RG/75759). D.F.-J. thanks the Royal Society for funding through a University Research Fellowship. We thank Diamond Light Source for beamtime at beamline I11 (visit EE9750).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society of Chemistry via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6DT00565

Molecular Sieving Properties of Nanoporous Mixed-Linker ZIF-62: Associated Structural Changes upon Gas Adsorption Application

The evaluation of the flexibility in zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) has been very useful to understand their performance in gas adsorption and separation applications. Here, we have evaluated the adsorption properties of a nanoporous mixed-linker ZIF-62 using a combination of gas adsorption measurements, grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations, and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction under operando conditions. While adsorption studies in nanoporous ZIF-62 at 77 K and atmospheric pressure predict a large O2/N2 separation ability, computational studies anticipate that the observed differences must be attributed to kinetic restrictions of N2 to access the internal porosity at cryogenic temperatures. Interestingly, upon a small increase in the adsorption temperature (90 K vs 77 K), both N2 and O2 are able to access the inner porous structure through the promotion of a phase transition (ca. 3.8% volume expansion) upon gas adsorption. This narrow phase (np) to expanded phase (ep) structural transition in ZIF-62 is completely suppressed above 150 K. Based on the excellent molecular sieve properties of nanoporous ZIF-62 for O2/N2 at cryogenic temperatures, we extended our study to the adsorption of linear and branched hydrocarbons. This study predicts the preferential adsorption of alkanes over alkenes in ZIF-62 for small hydrocarbons (C2), while in the case of C3 hydrocarbons and above, the adsorption process is mainly defined by kinetic restrictions.J.S.-A. acknowledges financial support from the MINECO (Projects MAT2016-80285-p and PID2019-108453GB-C21). The authors acknowledge ALBA for providing beamtime (Project No. 2019023264). Computational work was supported by the Cambridge High-Performance Computing Service, the Cambridge Service for Data-Driven Discovery (CSD3)

A comparison of copper and acid site zeolites for the production of nitric oxide for biomedical applications

The authors would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, University of St Andrews, and CRITICAT Centre for Doctoral Training for financial support [Ph.D. studentship to SR; Grant code: EP/L016419/1]. C. A. O. thanks Becas Chile and the Cambridge Trust for funding. D. F.-J. thanks the Royal Society (UK) for funding through a University Research Fellowship. Thanks also go to Chevron for the sample of H-SSZ-13.Copper-exchanged and acidic zeolites are shown to produce nitric oxide (NO) from a nitrite source in biologically active (nanomolar) concentrations. Four zeolites were studied; mordenite, ferrierite, ZSM-5 and SSZ-13, which had varying pore size, channel systems and Si/Al ratios. ZSM-5 and SSZ-13 produced the highest amounts of NO in both the copper and acid form. The high activity and regeneration of the copper active sites makes them good candidates for long-term NO production. Initial cytotoxicity tests have shown at least one of the copper zeolites (Cu-SSZ-13) to be biocompatible, highlighting the potential usage within biomedical applications.PostprintPeer reviewe

Selective Surface PEGylation of UiO-66 Nanoparticles for Enhanced Stability, Cell Uptake, and pH-Responsive Drug Delivery.

The high storage capacities and excellent biocompatibilities of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have made them emerging candidates as drug-delivery vectors. Incorporation of surface functionality is a route to enhanced properties, and here we report on a surface-modification procedure-click modulation-that controls their size and surface chemistry. The zirconium terephthalate MOF UiO-66 is (1) synthesized as ∼200 nm nanoparticles coated with functionalized modulators, (2) loaded with cargo, and (3) covalently surface modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains through mild bioconjugate reactions. At pH 7.4, the PEG chains endow the MOF with enhanced stability toward phosphates and overcome the "burst release" phenomenon by blocking interaction with the exterior of the nanoparticles, whereas at pH 5.5, stimuli-responsive drug release is achieved. The mode of cellular internalization is also tuned by nanoparticle surface chemistry, such that PEGylated UiO-66 potentially escapes lysosomal degradation through enhanced caveolae-mediated uptake. This makes it a highly promising vector, as demonstrated for dichloroacetic-acid-loaded materials, which exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity. The versatility of the click modulation protocol will allow a wide range of MOFs to be easily surface functionalized for a number of applications

Tuning the endocytosis mechanism of Zr-based metal−organic frameworks through linker functionalization

A critical bottleneck for the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as drug delivery systems has been allowing them to reach their intracellular targets without being degraded in the acidic environment of the lysosomes. Cells take up particles by endocytosis through multiple biochemical pathways, and the fate of these particles depends on these routes of entry. Here, we show the effect of functional group incorporation into a series of Zr-based MOFs on their endocytosis mechanisms, allowing us to design an effi-cient drug delivery system. In particular, naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid ligands promote entry through the caveolin-pathway, allowing the particles to avoid lysosomal degradation and be delivered into the cytosol, en-hancing their therapeutic activity when loaded with drugs