Kevin J. Gagnon

Definitive Molecular Level Characterization of Defects in UiO‐66 Crystals

The identification and characterization of defects, on the molecular level, in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) remain a challenge. With the extensive use of single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD), the missing linker defects in the zirconium-based MOF UiO-66, Zr6 O4 (OH)4 (C8 H4 O4 )6 , have been identified as water molecules coordinated directly to the zirconium centers. Charge balancing is achieved by hydroxide anions, which are hydrogen bonded within the pores of the framework. Furthermore, the precise nature of the defects and their concentration can be manipulated by altering the starting materials, synthesis conditions, and post-synthetic modifications.

Remarkable pressure responses of metal-organic frameworks: proton transfer and linker coiling in zinc alkyl gates.

Metal-organic frameworks demonstrate a wide variety of behavior in their response to pressure, which can be classified in a rather limited list of categories, including anomalous elastic behavior (e.g., negative linear compressibility, NLC), transitions between crystalline phases, and amorphization. Very few of these mechanisms involve bond rearrangement. Here, we report two novel piezo-mechanical responses of metal-organic frameworks, observed under moderate pressure in two materials of the zinc alkyl gate (ZAG) family. Both materials exhibit NLC at high pressure, due to a structural transition involving a reversible proton transfer between an included water molecule and the linkers phosphonate group. In addition, the 6-carbon alkyl chain of ZAG-6 exhibits a coiling transition under pressure. These phenomena are revealed by combining high-pressure single-crystal X-ray crystallography and quantum mechanical calculations. They represent novel pressure responses for metal-organic frameworks, and pressure-induced proton transfer is a very rare phenomenon in materials in general.

Quench behavior of conduction-cooled Y Ba2Cu3O7−δ coated conductor pancake coils stabilized with brass or copper

The quench behavior of conduction-cooled Y Ba2Cu3O7?? (YBCO) coated conductor pancake coils is reported. Two coils, one stabilized with copper and one with brass, are wound with 25?m of conductor and instrumented with a heater and a large number of voltage taps and thermocouples. The critical current, minimum quench energy (MQE) and two-dimensional normal zone propagation velocity (NZPV) are measured as a function of I/Ic, where I is the transport current and Ic is the critical current. Although the non-uniform temperature and self-field distributions within the coils result in a non-uniform Ic, the heater is able to induce quenches with energies above the MQE and both longitudinal and transverse propagation velocities are measured. In both coils, the longitudinal NZPV (10?40?mm?s ? 1) is about one order of magnitude larger than the transverse NZPV (1?2?mm?s ? 1). Moreover, a comparison between the Cu-stabilized coil and a short, straight Cu-stabilized sample shows that the one-dimensional longitudinal propagation in the short sample is significantly faster than the longitudinal propagation in the coil. This is due to transverse heat conduction (transverse propagation) which reduces the temperature gradients in the coil but also slows down the longitudinal propagation. Thus, designing a quench detection system based upon data from one-dimensional experiments may result in an unintended level of risk.

X-ray Crystal Structure of Au38–xAgx(SCH2CH2Ph)24 Alloy Nanomolecules

Herein, we report the X-ray crystallographic structure of a 38-metal atom Au-Ag alloy nanomolecule. The structure of monometallic Au38(SR)24 consists of 2 central Au atoms and 21 Au atoms forming a bi-icosahedral core protected by 6 dimeric and 3 monomeric units. In Au38-xAgx(SR)24,where x ranges from 1 to 5, the silver atoms are selectively incorporated into the Au21 bi-icosahedral core. Within the Au21 core, the silver atoms preferentially occupy nine selected locations: (a) the two vertex edges, three atoms on each edge and six atoms total, and (b) the middle face-shared three-atom ring, adding to a total of nine locations. X-ray crystallography yielded a composition of Au34.04Ag3.96(SCH2CH2Ph)24. The crystal structure of the alloy nanomolecule can be described in terms of shells as Au2@Au17.04Ag3.96@ 6×[-SR-Au-SR-Au-SR] 3×[-SR-Au-SR-].

Ligand Noninnocence in Coinage Metal Corroles: A Silver Knife-Edge.

A silver β-octabromo-meso-triarylcorrole has been found to exhibit a strongly saddled geometry, providing the first instance of a strongly saddled corrole complex involving a metal other than copper. The Soret maxima of the Ag octabromocorroles also redshift markedly in response to increasingly electron-donating para substituents on the meso-aryl groups. In both these respects, the Ag octabromocorroles differ from simple Ag triarylcorrole derivatives, which exhibit only mild saddling and substituent-insensitive Soret maxima. These results have been rationalized in terms of an innocent M(III)-corrole(3-) description for the simple Ag corroles and a noninnocent M(II)-corrole(·2-) description for the Ag octabromocorroles. In contrast, all copper corroles are thought to be noninnocent, while all gold corroles are innocent. Uniquely among metallocorroles, silver corroles thus seem poised on a knife-edge, so to speak, between innocent and noninnocent electronic structures and may tip either way, depending on the exact nature of the corrole ligand.

Oxidative Metalation as a Route to Size‐Mismatched Macrocyclic Complexes: Osmium Corroles

Heavy-element corroles are of great interest as optical sensors, near-IR dyes, phosphors, organic light-emitting diodes, and anticancer compounds. Insertion of 5d metals into corroles, however, is often a difficult and unpredictable process. Against this backdrop, oxidative metalation of meso triarylcorroles with [Os3 (CO)12 ]/NaN3 in refluxing 1:2 diethylene glycol monomethyl ether/glycol has provided a convenient and relatively high-yielding route to nitridoosmium(VI) corroles, three of which could be characterized with single-crystal X-ray structure analysis.

Metal-Ligand Misfits: Facile Access to Rhenium-Oxo Corroles by Oxidative Metalation.

With the exception of a single accidental synthesis, rhenium corroles are unknown, but of great interest as catalysts and potential radiopharmaceuticals. Oxidative metalation of meso-triarylcorroles with [Re2 (CO)10 ] in refluxing decalin has provided a facile and relatively high-yielding route to rhenium(V)-oxo corroles. The complexes synthesized could all be fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray structure analyses.

A neutral Fe(III) compound exhibiting a two-step spin transition and dielectric anomalies

The mononuclear ferric compound Fe(H-5-Cl-thsa-Me)(5-Cl-thsa-Me)·H2O () was synthesized and characterized using powder/single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and magnetic susceptibility measurements. This photo-responsive compound shows reversible, two-step spin-crossover behaviour. Moreover, dielectric anomalies were observed during the spin transitions, demonstrating the multifunctional properties of compound .

Modulating Supramolecular Binding of Carbon Dioxide in a Redox-Active Porous Metal-Organic Framework

Hydrogen bonds dominate many chemical and biological processes, and chemical modification enables control and modulation of host–guest systems. Here we report a targeted modification of hydrogen bonding and its effect on guest binding in redox-active materials. MFM-300(VIII) {[VIII2(OH)2(L)], LH4=biphenyl-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylic acid} can be oxidized to isostructural MFM-300(VIV), [VIV2O2(L)], in which deprotonation of the bridging hydroxyl groups occurs. MFM-300(VIII) shows the second highest CO2 uptake capacity in metal-organic framework materials at 298 K and 1 bar (6.0 mmol g−1) and involves hydrogen bonding between the OH group of the host and the O-donor of CO2, which binds in an end-on manner, =1.863(1) Å. In contrast, CO2-loaded MFM-300(VIV) shows CO2 bound side-on to the oxy group and sandwiched between two phenyl groups involving a unique ···c.g.phenyl interaction [3.069(2), 3.146(3) Å]. The macroscopic packing of CO2 in the pores is directly influenced by these primary binding sites.

Solvent-driven selective π-cation templating in dynamic assembly of interlocked molecules

Both bispyridinium (BPY) and trispyridinium (TPY) have been used to template the formation of linear or triply threaded [2]rotaxanes through imine-based dynamic clipping reactions. In this paper, we report contrasting solvent dependence between these two templated clipping reactions when two different solvents, namely CDCl3 and CD3CN, are used. The solvent dependence is elucidated based on 1H NMR studies, and structural features are revealed by single crystal X-ray analyses of the respective linear and triply threaded interlocked molecules. We have shown that although both clipping reactions are affected by hydrogen-bonding and aromatic–aromatic interactions in general, the nature of the aromatic–aromatic interactions is quite different, which is responsible for the different solvent response. The BPY-based clipping reaction is driven by electrostatic interactions between aromatic surfaces, while the TPY-based reaction is mainly governed by the solvation/desolvation effect (solvophobic interactions). These findings led us to design a rare solvent switchable system. In competition clipping experiments employing both BPY and TPY as the templates, exclusive formation of the BPY-based linear [2]rotaxane can be achieved in pure CDCl3, while in pure CD3CN, a 6.7 : 1 selectivity is achieved in favor of the TPY-based triply threaded [2]rotaxane. The detailed structural analysis of the two [2]rotaxanes as well as the solvent-dependent selectivity, may encourage more integrated approaches for the design of complex molecular architectures.