No abstract

A soft porous material [Zn(L)2(OH)2]n·Guest (where L is 4-(1H-naphtho[2,3-d]imidazol-1-yl)benzoate, and Guest is water or methanol) exhibits the strongest ever observed negative area compressibility (NAC), an extremely rare property, as at hydrostatic pressure most materials shrink in all directions and few expand in one direction. This is the first NAC reported in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and its magnitude, clearly visible and by far the highest of all known materials, can be reversibly tuned by exchanging guests adsorbed from hydrostatic fluids. This counterintuitive strong NAC of [Zn(L)2(OH)2]n·Guest arises from the interplay of flexible [-Zn-O(H)-]n helices with layers of [-Zn-L-]4 quadrangular puckered rings comprising large channel voids. The compression of helices and flattening of puckered rings combine to give a giant piezo-mechanical response, applicable in ultrasensitive sensors and actuators. The extrinsic NAC response to different hydrostatic fluids is due to varied host-guest interactions affecting the mechanical strain within the range permitted by exceptionally high flexibility of the framework.

Biologically derived metal-organic frameworks (bio-MOFs) are of great importance as they can be used as models for bio-mimicking and in catalysis, allowing us to gain insights into how large biological molecules function. Through rational design, here we report the synthesis of a novel bio-MOF featuring unobstructed Watson-Crick faces of adenine (Ade) pointing towards the MOF cavities. We show, through a combined experimental and computational approach, that thymine (Thy) molecules diffuse through the pores of the MOF and become base-paired with Ade. The Ade-Thy pair binding at 40–45% loading reveals that Thy molecules are packed within the channels in a way that fulfill both the Woodward-Hoffmann and Schmidt rules, and upon UV irradiation, Thy molecules dimerize into Thy<>Thy. This study highlights the utility of accessible functional groups within the pores of MOFs, and their ability to ‘lock’ molecules in specific positions that can be subsequently dimerized upon light irradiation, extending the use of MOFs as nanoreactors for the synthesis of molecules that are otherwise challenging to isolate.

Crystal structure of arsenolite, the cubic polymorph of arsenic(III) oxide, has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction up to 30 GPa. The bulk of the crystal is monotonically compressed with no detectable anomalies, to 60% of the initial volume at 30 GPa. In the structure the most compressed are As•••As contacts which contrasts with increased intramolecular As•••As distance in the deformed molecule. The ratio between As•••As inter-and intramolecular distances decreases from 1.47 at 0.1 MPa to 1.03 at 30 GPa. The As4O6 molecules are deformed to become more tetrahedron-like. Pressure above 3 GPa favours the formation of As4O6•2He inclusion compound in the surface layer increasingly deeper with pressure. The experimental As4O6 crystal compression has been compared with various theoretical models within the DFT framework. According to band-structure calculations the arsenolite band gap falls from 4.2 eV at ambient pressure to 2.7 eV at 27.8 GPa.

Prolonged consumption of water contaminated with fluoride ions (F − ) at concentrations exceeding 1.5 ppm can lead to considerable health implications, particularly in children and developing embryos. With irreversible and potentially severe forms of fluoride (F − ) toxicity such as skeletal fluorosis being endemic in at least 25 countries, constructing affordable, remoteaccess, reliable water-sampling methods for F − contamination is an important goal. In this work, we present a novel lanthanide-based luminescent metal−organic framework, named SION-105, with a boron (B) receptor site whose interactions with F − in aqueous solutions are simultaneously electrostatic and specific in nature because of its carefully designed structural environment. This allows the material to be easily regenerated and used over 10 cycles, setting it apart from most existing molecular and polymeric F − sensors. SION-105 has been combined with a portable prototype sampling device that was designed and built in-house to measure F − concentrations in natural groundwater samples taken from three different countries, with the results showing excellent agreement with ion chromatography analysis.