Anne Dailly

High Capacity Hydrogen Adsorption in Cu(II) Tetracarboxylate Framework Materials: The Role of Pore Size, Ligand Functionalization, and Exposed Metal Sites

A series of isostructural metal-organic framework polymers of composition [Cu2(L)(H2O)2] (L= tetracarboxylate ligands), denoted NOTT-nnn, has been synthesized and characterized. Single crystal X-ray structures confirm the complexes to contain binuclear Cu(II) paddlewheel nodes each bridged by four carboxylate centers to give a NbO-type network of 64.82 topology. These complexes are activated by solvent exchange with acetone coupled to heating cycles under vacuum to afford the desolvated porous materials NOTT-100 to NOTT-109. These incorporate a vacant coordination site at each Cu(II) center and have large pore volumes that contribute to the observed high H2 adsorption. Indeed, NOTT-103 at 77 K and 60 bar shows a very high total H2 adsorption of 77.8 mg g(-)- equivalent to 7.78 wt% [wt% = (weight of adsorbed H2)/(weight of host material)] or 7.22 wt% [wt% = 100(weight of adsorbed H2)/(weight of host material + weight of adsorbed H2)]. Neutron powder diffraction studies on NOTT-101 reveal three adsorption sites for this material: at the exposed Cu(II) coordination site, at the pocket formed by three {Cu2} paddle wheels, and at the cusp of three phenyl rings. Systematic virial analysis of the H2 isotherms suggests that the H2 binding energies at these sites are very similar and the differences are smaller than 1.0 kJ mol-1, although the adsorption enthalpies for H2 at the exposed Cu(II) site are significantly affected by pore metrics. Introducing methyl groups or using kinked ligands to create smaller pores can enhance the isosteric heat of adsorption and improve H2 adsorption. However, although increasing the overlap of potential energy fields of pore walls increases the heat of H2 adsorption at low pressure, it may be detrimental to the overall adsorption capacity by reducing the pore volume.

Exceptionally high H2 storage by a metal-organic polyhedral framework

The desolvated polyhedral framework material NOTT-112 shows an excess H(2) uptake of 7.07 wt% between 35 and 40 bar at 77 K, and a total H(2) uptake of 10 wt% at 77 bar and 77 K.

Metal−Organic Polyhedral Frameworks: High H2 Adsorption Capacities and Neutron Powder Diffraction Studies

Neutron powder diffraction experiments on D(2)-loaded NOTT-112 reveal that the axial sites of exposed Cu(II) ions in the smallest cuboctahedral cages are the first, strongest binding sites for D(2) leading to an overall discrimination between the two types of exposed Cu(II) sites at the paddlewheel nodes. Thus, the Cu(II) centers within the cuboctahedral cage are the first sites of D(2) binding with a Cu-D(2) distance of 2.23(1) A.

Synthesis and Hydrogen Storage Properties of Be12(OH)12(1,3,5-benzenetribenzoate)4

The first crystalline beryllium-based metal-organic framework has been synthesized and found to exhibit an exceptional surface area useful for hydrogen storage. Reaction of 1,3,5-benzenetribenzoic acid (H(3)BTB) and beryllium nitrate in a mixture of DMSO, DMF, and water at 130 degrees C for 10 days affords the solvated form of Be(12)(OH)(12)(1,3,5-benzenetribenzoate)(4) (1). Its highly porous framework structure consists of unprecedented saddle-shaped [Be(12)(OH)(12)](12+) rings connected through tritopic BTB(3-) ligands to generate a 3,12 net. Compound 1 exhibits a BET surface area of 4030 m(2)/g, the highest value yet reported for any main group metal-organic framework or covalent organic framework. At 77 K, the H(2) adsorption data for 1 indicate a fully reversible uptake of 1.6 wt % at 1 bar, with an initial isosteric heat of adsorption of -5.5 kJ/mol. At pressures up to 100 bar, the data show the compound to serve as an exceptional hydrogen storage material, reaching a total uptake of 9.2 wt % and 44 g/L at 77 K and of 2.3 wt % and 11 g/L at 298 K. It is expected that reaction conditions similar to those reported here may enable the synthesis of a broad new family of beryllium-based frameworks with extremely high surface areas.

Linker-Directed Vertex Desymmetrization for the Production of Coordination Polymers with High Porosity

Five non-interpenetrated microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) are derived by vertex desymmetrization using linkers with symmetry inequivalent coordinating groups, and these MCPs include properties such as rare metal clusters, new network topologies, and supramolecular isomerism. Gas sorption in polymorphic frameworks, UMCM-152 and UMCM-153 (based upon a copper-coordinated tetracarboxylated triphenylbenzene linker), reveals nearly identical properties with BET surface areas in the range of 3300-3500 m(2)/g and excess hydrogen uptake of 5.7 and 5.8 wt % at 77 K. In contrast, adsorption of organosulfur compounds dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT) shows remarkably different capacities, providing direct evidence that liquid-phase adsorption is not solely dependent on surface area or linker/metal cluster identity. Structural features present in MCPs derived from these reduced symmetry linkers include the presence of more than one type of Cu-paddlewheel in a structure derived from a terphenyl tricarboxylate (UMCM-151) and a three-bladed zinc paddlewheel metal cluster in an MCP derived from a pentacarboxylated triphenylbenzene linker (UMCM-154).

Enhancement of H2 Adsorption in Coordination Framework Materials by Use of Ligand Curvature

Solvothermal reaction of the ligands H(4)L(110) ((2,7-phenanthrenediyl)diisophthalic acid) and H(4)L(111) ([2,7-(9,10-dihydrophenanthrenediyl)]diisophthalic acid) with Cu(NO(3))(2) x 2.5 H(2)O in a slightly acidified mixture of DMF/1,4-dioxane/H(2)O afforded the solvated framework compounds [Cu(2)(L(110))(H(2)O)(2)](DMF)(7.5)(H(2)O)(5) (NOTT-110) and [Cu(2)(L(111))(H(2)O)(2)](DMF)(7.5)(H(2)O)(5) (NOTT-111), respectively. Crystal structure determinations confirmed that NOTT-110 and NOTT-111 have the same NbO framework structure, differing only at the 9 and 10 positions of the phenanthrene group. The BET surface areas for desolvated NOTT-110 and NOTT-111 were estimated to be 2960 and 2930 m(2) g(-1), respectively. Compared with their phenyl analogues, introduction of phenanthrene groups to these porous Cu(II)-carboxylate framework materials leads to an enhancement of H(2) adsorption. Thus, the H(2) isotherms for desolvated NOTT-110 and NOTT-111 confirm 2.64 and 2.56 wt % total H(2) uptake, respectively, at 1 bar and 78 K. NOTT-110 shows a high total H(2) storage capacity of 7.62 wt % at 55 bar and 77 K (8.5 wt % at saturation) with a total volumetric capacity of 46.8 g L(-1) at 55 bar and 77 K.

Structure and charge control in metal-organic frameworks based on the tetrahedral ligand tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane.

Use of the tetrahedral ligand tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane enabled isolation of two three-dimensional metal-organic frameworks featuring 4,6- and 4,8-connected nets related to the structures of garnet and fluorite with the formulae Mn(6)(ttpm)(3)5 DMF3 H(2)O (1) and Cu[(Cu(4)Cl)(ttpm)(2)](2)CuCl(2)5 DMF11 H(2)O (2) (H(4)ttpm=tetrakis(4-tetrazolylphenyl)methane). The fluorite-type solid 2 displays an unprecedented post-synthetic transformation in which the negative charge of the framework is reduced by extraction of copper(II) chloride. Desolvation of this compound generates Cu(4)(ttpm)(2)0.7 CuCl(2) (2 d), a microporous material exhibiting a high surface area and significant hydrogen uptake.

Modifying cage structures in metal-organic polyhedral frameworks for H2 storage.

Three isostructural metal-organic polyhedral cage based frameworks (denoted NOTT-113, NOTT-114 and NOTT-115) with (3,24)-connected topology have been synthesised by combining hexacarboxylate isophthalate linkers with {Cu(2)(RCOO)(4)} paddlewheels. All three frameworks have the same cuboctahedral cage structure constructed from 24 isophthalates from the ligands and 12 {Cu(2)(RCOO)(4)} paddlewheel moieties. The frameworks differ only in the functionality of the central core of the hexacarboxylate ligands with trimethylphenyl, phenylamine and triphenylamine moieties in NOTT-113, NOTT-114 and NOTT-115, respectively. Exchange of pore solvent with acetone followed by heating affords the corresponding desolvated framework materials, which show high BET surface areas of 2970, 3424 and 3394 m(2) g(-1) for NOTT-113, NOTT-114 and NOTT-115, respectively. Desolvated NOTT-113 and NOTT-114 show high total H(2) adsorption capacities of 6.7 and 6.8 wt%, respectively, at 77 K and 60 bar. Desolvated NOTT-115 has a significantly higher total H(2) uptake of 7.5 wt% under the same conditions. Analysis of the heats of adsorption (Q(st)) for H(2) reveals that with a triphenylamine moiety in the cage wall, desolvated NOTT-115 shows the highest value of Q(st) for these three materials, indicating that functionalisation of the cage walls with more aromatic rings can enhance the H(2)/framework interactions. In contrast, measurement of Q(st) reveals that the amine-substituted trisalkynylbenzene core used in NOTT-114 gives a notably lower H(2)/framework binding energy.

Non-Interpenetrated Metal-Organic Frameworks Based on Copper(II) Paddlewheel and Oligoparaxylene-Isophthalate Linkers: Synthesis, Structure and Gas Adsorption

Two metal-organic framework materials, MFM-130 and MFM-131 (MFM = Manchester Framework Material), have been synthesized using two oligoparaxylene (OPX) tetracarboxylate linkers containing four and five aromatic rings, respectively. Both fof-type non-interpenetrated networks contain Kagomé lattice layers comprising [Cu2(COO)4] paddlewheel units and isophthalates, which are pillared by the OPX linkers. Desolvated MFM-130, MFM-130a, shows permanent porosity (BET surface area of 2173 m(2)/g, pore volume of 1.0 cm(3)/g), high H2 storage capacity at 77 K (5.3 wt% at 20 bar and 2.2 wt% at 1 bar), and a higher CH4 adsorption uptake (163 cm(3)(STP)/cm(3) (35 bar and 298 K)) compared with its structural analogue, NOTT-103. MFM-130a also shows impressive selective adsorption of C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6 over CH4 at room temperature, indicating its potential for separation of C2 hydrocarbons from CH4. The single-crystal structure of MFM-131 confirms that the methyl substituents of the paraxylene units block the windows in the Kagomé lattice layer of the framework, effectively inhibiting network interpenetration in MFM-131. This situation is to be contrasted with that of the doubly interpenetrated oligophenylene analogue, NOTT-104. Calculation of the mechanical properties of these two MOFs confirms and explains the instability of MFM-131 upon desolvation in contrast to the behavior of MFM-130. The incorporation of paraxylene units, therefore, provides an efficient method for preventing network interpenetration as well as accessing new functional materials with modified and selective sorption properties for gas substrates.

Evaluation of an industrial pilot scale densified MOF-177 adsorbent as an on-board hydrogen storage medium

Exploring and evaluating on-board solid state hydrogen storage systems performance are of great interest for fuel cell electric vehicles development. In this report, we present gravimetric and volumetric capacities of a hydrogen storage system based on a densified MOF-177 adsorbent. This is, to our knowledge, the first thorough study of an engineered industrial scale MOFs for hydrogen storage application. The measurements were performed over the 50–120 K and 0–40 bar ranges, and modeled using micropore filling approaches. The performances of a potential 100 L vessel filled with the densified MOF-177 are inferred from the modeling parameters. A comparison of this technology with the 70 MPa compressed gas hydrogen system shows under which conditions the adsorbent offer advantages in terms of volumetric and gravimetric capacities. Further comparison with AX-21 activated carbon pellets reveals that densified MOF-177 stores about 40% more at 77 K and 35 bar. In order to get a physically sound modeling analysis, we introduced an approach to establish effective saturation pressures for supercritical adsorption. This approach insures a consistency between key model parameters and the observed liquid properties of the adsorbed phase at the lowest temperatures. We show that modeling using temperature-dependent saturation pressures and adsorbed phase densities leads to important differences in the projected usable storage capacities. Such differences can be as much as 25% at 50 K in the high pressure limit, revealing the importance of physical insights in the modeling approach.