Through the use of high-throughput methods, solvothermal reactions of FeCl 3 and 2-aminoterephthalic acid in protic as well as aprotic reaction media were systematically studied. Thus, the fields of formation of the isoreticular structures of MIL-53, MIL-88, and MIL-101 based on Fe(III) and aminoterephthalate could be identified for the first time. The resulting 3D framework materials with amino-functionalized pores have been characterized using X-ray diffraction; IR spectroscopy; and thermogravimetric, elemental, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Due to the applied high-throughput method, a high density of information was obtained in a short period of time, which allows the extraction of important reaction trends and contributes to a better understanding of the role of compositional as well as process parameters in the synthesis of inorganic-organic hybrid materials. We have found that the nature of the reaction medium has the most profound impact on structure formation. Furthermore, the concentration of the starting mixture (i.e., the solvent content) and the temperature have also been identified as key parameters for the formation of the different hybrid phases.

A new aluminum trimesate Al12O(OH)18(H2O)3(Al2(OH)4)[btc]6.24H2O, denominated MIL-96, was synthesized under mild hydrothermal conditions (210 degrees C, 24 h) in the presence of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (trimesic acid or H3btc) in water. Hexagonal crystals, allowing a single-crystal XRD analysis, are grown from a mixture of trimethyl 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (Me3btc), HF, and TEOS. The MIL-96 structure exhibits a three-dimensional (3D) framework containing isolated trinuclear mu3-oxo-bridged aluminum clusters and infinite chains of AlO4(OH)2 and AlO2(OH)4 octahedra forming a honeycomb lattice based on 18-membered rings. The two types of aluminum groups are connected to each other through the trimesate species, which induce corrugated chains of aluminum octahedra, linked via mu2-hydroxo bonds with the specific -cis-cis-trans- sequence. The 3D framework of MIL-96 reveals three types of cages. Two of them, centered at the special positions 0 0 0 and 2/3 1/3 1/4, have estimated pore volumes of 417 and 635 A3, respectively, and encapsulate free water molecules. The third one has a smaller pore volume and contains disordered aluminum octahedral species (Al(OH)6). The solid-state NMR characterization is consistent with crystal structure and elemental and thermal analyses. The four aluminum crystallographic sites are resolved by means of 27Al 3QMAS technique. This product is able to sorb both carbon dioxide and methane at room temperature (4.4 mmol.g(-1) for CO2 and 1.95 mmol.g(-1) for CH4 at 10 bar) and hydrogen at 77 K (1.91 wt % under 3 bar).