A novel anilato-based 3D ultramicroporous MOF is reported, displaying a significant balance of high CO2 separation from CO2:N2 and CO2:CH4 gas mixtures, high thermal stability and high regenerability, a challenge in the separation technology industry.

The design of efficient food contact materials that maintain optimal levels of food safety is of paramount relevance to reduce the increasing number of foodborne illnesses. In this work, we develop a smart composite metal–organic framework (MOF)-based material that fosters a unique prolonged antibacterial activity. The composite is obtained by entrapping a natural food preserving molecule, carvacrol, into a mesoporous MIL-100(Fe) material following a direct and biocompatible impregnation method, and obtaining particularly high payloads. By exploiting the intrinsic redox nature of the MIL-100(Fe) material, it is possible to achieve a prolonged activity against Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua due to a triggered two-step carvacrol release from films containing the carvacrol@MOF composite. Essentially, it was discovered that based on the underlying chemical interaction between MIL-100(Fe) and carvacrol, it is possible to undergo a reversible charge-transfer process between the metallic MOF counterpart and carvacrol upon certain chemical stimuli. During this process, the preferred carvacrol binding site was monitored by infrared, Mössbauer, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies, and the results are supported by theoretical calculations.

The design of efficient food contact materials that maintain optimal levels of food safety is of paramount relevance to reduce the increasing foodborne illnesses. In this work, we develop a smart composite MOF-based material that fosters a unique prolonged antibacterial activity. The composite is obtained by entrapping a natural preserving food molecule, carvacrol, into the mesoporous MIL-100(Fe) material following a direct and biocompatible impregnation method and obtaining particularly high payloads. By exploiting the intrinsic redox nature of MIL-100(Fe) material it is possible to achieve a prolonged activity against E. coli bacteria due to a triggered two-step carvacrol release of films containing the carvacrol@MOF composite. Essentially, it was discovered that based on the underlying chemical interaction among MIL-100(Fe) and carvacrol, it is possible to undergo a reversible charge transfer process between the metallic MOF counterpart and the carvacrol upon certain physical stimuli. During this process, the preferred carvacrol binding site has been monitored by IR, Mössbauer and EPR spectroscopies and is supported by theoretical calculations.