Lin-Hua Xie

CO2 Capture and Separations Using MOFs: Computational and Experimental Studies

This Review focuses on research oriented toward elucidation of the various aspects that determine adsorption of CO2 in metal-organic frameworks and its separation from gas mixtures found in industrial processes. It includes theoretical, experimental, and combined approaches able to characterize the materials, investigate the adsorption/desorption/reaction properties of the adsorbates inside such environments, screen and design new materials, and analyze additional factors such as material regenerability, stability, effects of impurities, and cost among several factors that influence the effectiveness of the separations. CO2 adsorption, separations, and membranes are reviewed followed by an analysis of the effects of stability, impurities, and process operation conditions on practical applications.

In-Situ Ligand Formation-Driven Preparation of a Heterometallic Metal–Organic Framework for Highly Selective Separation of Light Hydrocarbons and Efficient Mercury Adsorption

By means of the in situ ligand formation strategy and hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) theory, two types of independent In(COO)4 and Cu6S6 clusters were rationally embedded into the heterometallic metal-organic framework (HMOF) {[(CH3)2NH2]InCu4L4·xS}n (BUT-52). BUT-52 exhibits a three-dimensional (3D) anionic framework structure and has sulfur decorating the dumbbell-shaped cages with the external edges of 24 and 14 Å by the internal edges. Remarkably, because of the stronger charge-induced interactions between the charged MOF skeleton and the easily polarized C2 hydrocarbons (C2s), BUT-52 was used for C2s over CH4 and shows both high adsorption heats of C2s and selective separation abilities for C2s/CH4. Furthermore, BUT-52 also displays efficient mercury adsorption resulting from the stronger-binding ability beween the sulfur and the mercury and can remove 92% mercury from methanol solution even with the initial concentration as low as 100 mg/L. The results in this work indicate the feasibility of BUT-52 for the separation of light hydrocarbons and efficient adsorption/removal of mercury.

Bidentate Phosphine-Assisted Synthesis of an All-Alkynyl-Protected Ag74 Nanocluster

Determining the total structure of metal nanoparticles is vital to understand their properties. In this work, the first all-alkynyl-protected Ag nanocluster, Ag74(C≡CPh)44, was synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal diffraction. Ag atoms are arranged in a Ag4@Ag22@Ag48 three shell structure and all 44 phenylethynyl ligands coordinated with Ag in a μ3 mode. In spite of being absent in nanocluster, 31P NMR study reveals that bidentate phosphine first reacts with Ag(I) to form a dinuclear complex, from which Ag atoms are then released to phenylethynyl ligands. This phosphine mediated strategy may find general application in synthesis of alkynyl-protected Ag nanoclusters.

Functionalized Base-Stable Metal–Organic Frameworks for Selective CO2 Adsorption and Proton Conduction

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great potential for application in various fields, including CO2 capture and proton conduction. For promoting their practical applications, both optimization of a given property and enhancement of chemical stability are crucial. In this work, three base-stable isostructural MOFs, [Ni8 (OH)4 (H2 O)2 (BDP-X)6 ] (Ni-BDP-X; H2 BDP=1,4-bis(4-pyrazolyl)benzene, X=CHO, CN, COOH) with different functional groups, are designed, synthesized, and used in CO2 capture and proton conduction experiments. They possess face-centered cubic topological structures with functional nanoscale cavities. Importantly, these MOFs are fairly stable to maintain their structures in boiling water and 4 M sodium hydroxide solution at room temperature. Functionalization endows them with tunable properties. In gas adsorption studies, these MOFs exhibit selective adsorption of CO2 over CH4 and N2 , and in particular the introduction of COOH groups provides the highest selectivity. In addition, the COOH-functionalized Ni-BDP exhibits a high proton conductivity of 2.22×10-3  S cm-1 at 80 °C and approximately 97 % relative humidity.

Two interpenetrated metal–organic frameworks with a slim ethynyl-based ligand: designed for selective gas adsorption and structural tuning

In the design and construction of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), the utilization of slim ligands is usually more inclined to form interpenetrated structures compared with bulky ones. The structural interpenetration can improve the framework stability and in some cases, enhance gas adsorption capacity and selectivity due to confined pores. In order to explore the structural control of MOFs and construct new MOFs with good selective gas adsorption ability, herein, a slim ethynyl-based 4-connected carboxylate acid ligand, 4,4′,4′′,4′′′-(benzene-1,2,4,5-tetrayltetrakis(ethyne-2,1-diyl))tetrabenzoic acid (H4BTEB), was used to design and construct MOFs, hopefully having interpenetrated structures. Combining with 4-connected paddle-wheel Cu2(COO)4 and 8-connected Zr6O4(OH)8(COO)8 clusters, BTEB4− ligand led to two new MOFs, [Cu2(BTEB)(H2O)2] (BUT-43) and [Zr6O4(OH)8(H2O)4(BTEB)2] (BUT-44). As expected, the two MOFs have two-fold interpenetrated framework structures with partitioned channels. BUT-43 contains a rare three-dimensional (3D) 4-connected single network with lvt topology, which then interpenetrates. In BUT-44, each Zr6-based cluster is coordinated with eight BTEB4− ligands to give a single 3D 4,8-connected scu network, which then doubly interpenetrates to give the first example of interpenetrated 4,8-connected Zr(IV)-MOF. Studies on their stability and gas adsorption properties demonstrate that BUT-44 shows higher stability in NaOH solution of pH 10 and 1 M HCl aqueous solution. More interestingly, both MOFs represent good gas adsorption selectivities for C2H2 over CO2 and CH4, suggesting potential application in gas separation.