Diego A. Gómez-Gualdrón

The materials genome in action: Identifying the performance limits for methane storage

Analogous to the way the Human Genome Project advanced an array of biological sciences by mapping the human genome, the Materials Genome Initiative aims to enhance our understanding of the fundamentals of materials science by providing the information we need to accelerate the development of new materials. This approach is particularly applicable to recently developed classes of nanoporous materials, such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), which are synthesized from a limited set of molecular building blocks that can be combined to generate a very large number of different structures. In this Perspective, we illustrate how a materials genome approach can be used to search for high-performance adsorbent materials to store natural gas in a vehicular fuel tank. Drawing upon recent reports of large databases of existing and predicted nanoporous materials generated in silico, we have collected and compared on a consistent basis the methane uptake in over 650 000 materials based on the results of molecular simulation. The data that we have collected provide candidate structures for synthesis, reveal relationships between structural characteristics and performance, and suggest that it may be difficult to reach the current Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) target for natural gas storage.

Water-Stable Zirconium-Based Metal–Organic Framework Material with High-Surface Area and Gas-Storage Capacities

We designed, synthesized, and characterized a new Zr-based metal-organic framework material, NU-1100, with a pore volume of 1.53 ccg(-1) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 4020 m(2) g(-1) ; to our knowledge, currently the highest published for Zr-based MOFs. CH4 /CO2 /H2 adsorption isotherms were obtained over a broad range of pressures and temperatures and are in excellent agreement with the computational predictions. The total hydrogen adsorption at 65 bar and 77 K is 0.092 g g(-1) , which corresponds to 43 g L(-1) . The volumetric and gravimetric methane-storage capacities at 65 bar and 298 K are approximately 180 vSTP /v and 0.27 g g(-1) , respectively.

Nanosizing a Metal–Organic Framework Enzyme Carrier for Accelerating Nerve Agent Hydrolysis

We report the synthesis and characterization of a water-stable zirconium metal-organic framework (MOF), NU-1003, featuring the largest mesoporous aperture known for a zirconium MOF. This material has been used to immobilize the nerve agent hydrolyzing enzyme, organophosphorus acid anhydrolase (OPAA). The catalytic efficiency of immobilized OPAA in nanosized NU-1003 is significantly increased compared to that of OPAA immobilized in microsized NU-1003 and even exceeds that of the free OPAA enzyme. This paper highlights a method for rapid and highly efficient hydrolysis of nerve agents using nanosized enzyme carriers.

In silico discovery of metal-organic frameworks for precombustion CO2 capture using a genetic algorithm

A genetic algorithm was used to accelerate the computational discovery of new nanoporous materials for capturing CO2. Discovery of new adsorbent materials with a high CO2 working capacity could help reduce CO2 emissions from newly commissioned power plants using precombustion carbon capture. High-throughput computational screening efforts can accelerate the discovery of new adsorbents but sometimes require significant computational resources to explore the large space of possible materials. We report the in silico discovery of high-performing adsorbents for precombustion CO2 capture by applying a genetic algorithm to efficiently search a large database of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for top candidates. High-performing MOFs identified from the in silico search were synthesized and activated and show a high CO2 working capacity and a high CO2/H2 selectivity. One of the synthesized MOFs shows a higher CO2 working capacity than any MOF reported in the literature under the operating conditions investigated here.

G-quadruplex organic frameworks

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks often π stack into crystalline solids that allow precise spatial positioning of molecular building blocks. Inspired by the hydrogen-bonded G-quadruplexes found frequently in guanine-rich DNA, here we show that this structural motif can be exploited to guide the self-assembly of naphthalene diimide and perylene diimide electron acceptors end-capped with two guanine electron donors into crystalline G-quadruplex-based organic frameworks, wherein the electron donors and acceptors form ordered, segregated π-stacked arrays. Time-resolved optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies show that photogenerated holes and electrons in the frameworks have long lifetimes and display recombination kinetics typical of dissociated charge carriers. Moreover, the reduced acceptors form polarons in which the electron is shared over several molecules. The G-quadruplex frameworks also demonstrate potential as cathode materials in Li-ion batteries because of the favourable electron- and Li-ion-transporting capacity provided by the ordered rylene diimide arrays and G-quadruplex structures, respectively.

A modelling approach for MOF-encapsulated metal catalysts and application to n-butane oxidation.

Metal nanoparticles (NP) encapsulated by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are novel composite materials that have shown promise as regioselective catalysts. The regioselectivity in these materials arises from steric constraints imposed by the porous MOF structure, which limit the way molecules approach and interact with the metal surface. Here we introduce a conceptually simple DFT approach to model reactions under such steric constraints. This approach is computationally efficient and accounts for the steric constraints imposed by a MOF pore in a general way. The adsorption of reactants, intermediates, and products associated with oxidation of n-butane to 1-butanol (and 2-butanol) on clean and oxygen-covered palladium surfaces is investigated with (and without) the constraints of a pore. Reaction energies are calculated, and we find that the thermodynamic favorability of the intermediate reactions is affected by the presence of steric constraints, oxygen coverage, and the exposed crystal surface of the metal. Based on these results, the Pd(111) surface with 0.25 ML oxygen coverage and steric constraints (which could be provided by a suitable MOF) seems promising to favor the desired sequence of reactions that would lead to the conversion of n-butane to 1-butanol.