The Mn(2)(HPO(3))F(2) phase has been synthesized as single crystals by using mild hydrothermal conditions. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group, with unit cell parameters of a = 7.5607(8), b = 10.2342(7), and c = 5.5156(4) Å, with Z = 4. The crystal structure consists of a three-dimensional framework formed by alternating (010) layers of [MnO(3)F(3)] octahedra linked up by three connected [HPO(3)] tetrahedra. Luminescence measurements were performed at different temperatures between 10 and 150 K. The 10 K emission spectrum of the octahedrally coordinated Mn(II) cation exhibits a broad band centered at around 615 nm corresponding to the (4)T(1) → (6)A(1) transition. In order to explore the effect of the Mn(II) concentration and the possibility of enhancing the luminescence properties of the Mn(II) cation in Mn(2)(HPO(3))F(2), different intermediate composition members of the finite solid solution with the general formula (Mn(x)Zn(1-x))(2)(HPO(3))F(2) were prepared and their luminescent properties studied. The magnetic and specific heat behavior of M(2)(HPO(3))F(2) (M = Mn, Fe) have also been investigated. The compounds exhibit a global antiferromagnetic ordering with a spin canting phenomenon detected at approximately 30 K. The specific heat measurements show sharp λ-type peaks at 29.7 and 33.5 K for manganese and iron compounds, respectively. The total magnetic entropy is consistent with spin S = 5/2 and S = 2 of Mn(II) and Fe(II) cations.

Acute Cr VI water pollution duet oa nthropogenic activities is an increasing worldwide concern. The high toxicity and mobility of Cr VI makesi tn ecessary to develop dual adsorbent/ion-reductive materialst hat are able to capture Cr VI and transform it efficiently into the less hazardous Cr III. An accurated escription of chromium speciationa tt he adsorbent/ion-reductive matrix is key to assessing whether Cr VI is completely reduced to Cr III ,o ri fi ts incomplete transformation has led to the stabilization of highly reactive, transient Cr V species within the material. With this goal in mind, a dual ultraviolet-visible and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy approachh as been applied to determine the chromium speciation within zirconium-basedm etal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Our findings point out that the generation of defects at Zr-MOFs boosts Cr VI adsorption, whilst the presence of reductiveg roups on the organic linkersp lay ak ey role in stabilizing it as isolated and/or clustered Cr III ions.

M2(SeO3)F2 (M = Zn (1), Mn (2)) stoichiometric phases together with the Zn2-xMnx(SeO3)F2 compound doped at various concentrations (x = 0.002-0.2) were synthesized by employing mild hydrothermal conditions. These compounds have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Rietveld refinement of the X-ray powder diffraction patterns, ICP-Q-MS, thermogravimetric and thermodiffractometric analyses, and IR, UV/vis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. Compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the orthorhombic Pnma space group with lattice parameters: a = 7.27903(4), b = 10.05232(6) and c = 5.26954(3) Å for the zinc species and a = 7.50848(9), b = 10.3501(12) and c = 5.47697(6) Å for the manganese phase, with Z = 4. The crystal structures of these compounds are isotypic and are built up from a 3D framework constructed by (010) sheets of [MO3F3] octahedra linked up by [SeO3] building units. Luminescence measurements of Mn2(SeO3)F2 were performed at different temperatures between 10 and 150 K. At 10 K, the emission spectrum consists of a broad band peaked at around 660 nm related to the (4)T1g→(6)A1g transition in octahedrically coordinated Mn(2+). Moreover, the influence of temperatures up to 295 K and the Mn concentration on the luminescent properties of the Zn2-xMnx(SeO3)F2 system were systematically studied. Magnetic measurements of 2 show antiferromagnetic coupling as the major interactions exhibiting a spin canting at low temperature.

The presence of hexavalent chromium water pollution is a growing global concern. Among the currently applied technologies to remove CrVI, its adsorption and photocatalytic reduction to CrIII less mobile and toxic forms are the most appealing because of their simplicity, reusability, and low energy consumption. However, little attention has been paid to bifunctional catalysts, that is, materials that can reduce CrVI to CrIII and retain both hexavalent and trivalent chromium species at the same time. In this work, the dual CrVI adsorption–reduction capacity of two iconic photoactive water-stable zirconium and titanium-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has been investigated: UiO-66-NH2 and MIL-125. The bifunctionality of photoactive MOFs depends on different parameters, such as the particle size in MIL-125 or organic linker functionalization/defective positions in UiO-66 type sorbents. For instance, the presence of organic linker defects in UiO-66 has shown to be detrimental for the chromium photoreduction but beneficial for the retention of the CrIII phototransformed species. Both compounds are able to retain from 90 to 98% of the initial chromium present at acidic solutions as well as immobilize the reduced CrIII species, demonstrating the suitability of the materials for CrVI environmental remediation. In addition, it has been demonstrated that adsorption can be carried out also in a continuous flux mode through a diluted photoactive MOF/sand chromatographic column. The obtained results open the perspective to assess the bifunctional sorption and photoreduction ability of a plethora of MOF materials that have been applied for chromium capture and photoreduction purposes. In parallel, this work opens the perspective to develop specific chemical encoding strategies within MOFs to transfer this bifunctionality to other related water remediation applications.

Classification of inorganic–organic vanadates constructed from bridging ligands based on the metal–organic and inorganic substructures dimensionalities.