Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community

It is a critical time to reflect on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science to date as well as envision what research can be done right now with NEON (and other) data and what training is needed to enable a diverse user community. NEON became fully operational in May 2019 and has pivoted from planning and construction to operation and maintenance. In this overview, the history of and foundational thinking around NEON are discussed. A framework of open science is described with a discussion of how NEON can be situated as part of a larger data constellation—across existing networks and different suites of ecological measurements and sensors. Next, a synthesis of early NEON science, based on >100 existing publications, funded proposal efforts, and emergent science at the very first NEON Science Summit (hosted by Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in October 2019) is provided. Key questions that the ecology community will address with NEON data in the next 10 yr are outlined, from understanding drivers of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales to defining complex feedback mechanisms in human–environmental systems. Last, the essential elements needed to engage and support a diverse and inclusive NEON user community are highlighted: training resources and tools that are openly available, funding for broad community engagement initiatives, and a mechanism to share and advertise those opportunities. NEON users require both the skills to work with NEON data and the ecological or environmental science domain knowledge to understand and interpret them. This paper synthesizes early directions in the community’s use of NEON data, and opportunities for the next 10 yr of NEON operations in emergent science themes, open science best practices, education and training, and community building

Amino-Functionalized Layered Crystalline Zirconium Phosphonates: Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Spectroscopic Characterization

Two new layered zirconium phosphonates functionalized with amino groups were synthesized starting from aminomethylphosphonic acid in the presence of different mineralizers, and their structures were solved from powder X-ray diffraction data. Their topologies are unprecedented in zirconium phosphonate chemistry: The first, of formula ZrH[F3(O3PCH2NH2)], prepared in the presence of hydrofluoric acid, features uncommon ZrO2F4 units and a remarkable thermal stability; the second, of formula Zr2H2[(C2O4)3(O3PCH2NH2)2]·2H2O, prepared in the presence of oxalic acid, is based on ZrO7 units with oxalate anions coordinated to the metal atom, which were never observed before in any zirconium phosphonate. In addition, the structure of another compound based on (2-Aminoethyl)phosphonic acid is reported, which was the object of a previously published study. This compound has layered α-Type structure with âNH3+ groups located in the interlayer space. All of the reported compounds were further characterized by means of vibrational spectroscopy, which provided important information on fine structural details that cannot be deduced from the powder X-ray diffraction data

The first route to highly stable crystalline microporous zirconium phosphonate metal–organic frameworks

The first crystalline microporous zirconium phosphonate metal–organic framework (UPG-1) was synthesized using the novel tritopic ligand 2,4,6-tris(4-(phosphonomethyl)phenyl)-1,3,5-triazine. Its crystal structure was solved ab initio from laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data. UPG-1 displays remarkable thermal stability and hydrolysis resistance and has a good absorption affinity towards n-butane and CO2

Role of the solvent in the US-assisted preparation of TiO2 for the photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water

This work presents a study concerning the role of the solvent in the US-assisted preparation of TiO2 for the photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water. Different solvente were tested in the catalyst preparation and the obtained results in a batch reactor discussed

Efficient microwave assisted synthesis of metal–organic framework UiO-66: optimization and scale up

A highly efficient and scalable microwave assisted synthesis of zirconium-based metal–organic framework UiO-66 was developed. In order to identify the best conditions for optimizing the process, a wide range of parameters was investigated. The efficiency of the process was evaluated with the aid of four quantitative indicators. The properties of the materials prepared by microwave irradiation were compared with those synthesized by conventional heating, and no significant effects on morphology, crystal size, or defects were found from the use of microwave assisted heating. Scale up was performed maintaining the high efficiency of the process