The energetic performances of three isomorphic ZIF materials, i.e., ZIF-8_CH 3 (Basolite Z1200), ZIF-8_Cl, and ZIF-8_Br, of SOD topology are studied with high-pressure intrusion−extrusion experiments using water and aqueous electrolyte solutions (KCl 4 M and LiCl 20 M) as nonwetting liquids. This work represents an important progress in the field of energetic applications, as the "ZIF-8_Cl−LiCl 20 M" system exhibits a spring behavior with a stored energy of 77 J g −1 . To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest value for the stored energy obtained using intrusion−extrusion experiments. Experimental results reveal that the intrusion pressure increases with the addition of electrolytes. The systems evolve from a bumper to a shock-absorber or spring behavior with the decrease in the strength of the interactions between the cation of the salt and the imidazolate linker. This explains the bumper or rather the shock-absorber behavior observed for the "ZIF-8_Br−KCl 4 M" and "ZIF-8_CH 3 −LiCl 20 M" systems compared to the spring behavior observed with the other systems reported in this work.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as an important class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials. One of the reasons they have gained remarkable attention is attributed to the possibility of altering them by postsynthetic modification, thereby providing access to new and novel advanced materials. MOFs have been applied in catalysis, gas storage, gas separation, chemical sensing, and drug delivery. However, their bactericidal use has rarely been explored. Herein, we developed a two-step process for the synthesis of zirconium-based MOFs metalated with silver cations as a potent antibacterial agent. The obtained products were thoroughly characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible, IR, thermogravimetric, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analyses. Their potency was evaluated against E. coli with a reported minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration of as low as 6.5 μg/mL of silver content. Besides the novelty of the system, the advantage of this strategy is that the MOFs could be potentially regenerated and remetalated after each antibacterial test, unlike previously reported frameworks, which involved the destruction of the framework.

In this work, the energetic behaviors of two zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) materials, ZIF-71 and the highly porous MAF-6, of RHO topology are studied in high-pressure intrusion−extrusion experiments using LiCl 20 M aqueous solution and/or water as nonwetting liquids. During the intrusion−extrusion experiments, both MAF-6 and ZIF-71 structures undergo phase transformations under the combined effects of high pressure and the nonwetting liquid. For the "MAF-6−H 2 O" system, the volume variation step observed on the intrusion curve of the first intrusion− extrusion cycle partially corresponds to the intrusion of water molecules inside the MAF-6 pores associated with a partial and irreversible phase transformation of MAF-6 into a nonporous and unidentified phase X. When the pressure is released, that is, when the experiment is stopped at the end of the volume variation step and the system returns to atmospheric pressure, the intruded water molecules are expelled from the porosity of the remaining MAF-6 material, and the "MAF-6−H 2 O" system, therefore, displays a mixture of shock-absorber and bumper behaviors. In the case of both "MAF-6−" and "ZIF-71−LiCl 20 M aqueous solution" systems, the volume variation step is shifted to a higher pressure range, indicating that the intrusion of the nonwetting liquid molecules occurs at a higher pressure because of the presence of electrolytes. For the "MAF-6−LiCl 20 M aqueous solution" system, a mixture of MAF-6 and phase X is obtained at the end of the volume variation step, which probably indicates energetic behavior similar to the one observed for the "MAF-6−H 2 O" system (i.e., a mixture of shock-absorber and bumper behaviors). In the case of the "ZIF-71−LiCl 20 M aqueous solution" system, the volume variation step observed on the intrusion curve of the first intrusion−extrusion cycle corresponds to a phase transformation. At the end of this step, the ZIF-71 structure is completely transformed into ZIF-72 (lcs). The "ZIF-71−LiCl 20 M aqueous solution" system, thus, displays bumper behavior, as the supplied mechanical energy is absorbed during the irreversible phase transformation phenomenon.