Quasielastic neutron scattering study on proton dynamics assisted by water and ammonia molecules confined in MIL-53.

Dynamics of water and other small molecules confined in nanoporous materials is one of the current topics in condensed matter physics. One popular host material is a benzenedicarboxylate-bridging metal (III) complex abbreviated to MIL-53, whose chemical formula is M(OH)[CH(CO)R] where M = Cr, Al, Fe and R = H, OH, NH, COOH. These materials absorb not only water but also ammonia molecules.

Selective separation of water, methanol, and ethanol by a porous coordination polymer built with a flexible tetrahedral ligand.

A novel porous coordination polymer, Cu(II)(mtpm)Cl(2) [mtpm = tetrakis(m-pyridyloxy methylene)methane], has been synthesized, and its crystal structure has been determined. Its adsorption isotherms for water, methanol, and ethanol are totally different from each other. It adsorbs water at low humidity and shows gate-open behavior for methanol, but it does not adsorb ethanol.

Promotion of low-humidity proton conduction by controlling hydrophilicity in layered metal-organic frameworks.

We controlled the hydrophilicity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to achieve high proton conductivity and high adsorption of water under low humidity conditions, by employing novel class of MOFs, {NR(3)(CH(2)COOH)}[MCr(ox)(3)]·nH(2)O (abbreviated as R-MCr, where R = Me (methyl), Et (ethyl), or Bu (n-butyl), and M = Mn or Fe): Me-FeCr, Et-MnCr, Bu-MnCr, and Bu-FeCr. The cationic components have a carboxyl group that functions as the proton carrier. The hydrophilicity of the cationic ions was tuned by the NR(3) residue to decrease with increasing bulkiness of the residue: {NMe(3)(CH(2)COOH)}(+) > {NEt(3)(CH(2)COOH)}(+) > {NBu(3)(CH(2)COOH)}(+).

Wide control of proton conductivity in porous coordination polymers.

The proton conductivities of the porous coordination polymers M(OH)(bdc-R) [H(2)bdc = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; M = Al, Fe; R = H, NH(2), OH, (COOH)(2)] were investigated under humid conditions. Good correlations among pK(a), proton conductivity, and activation energy were observed. Fe(OH)(bdc-(COOH)(2)), having carboxy group and the lowest pK(a), showed the highest proton conductivity and the lowest activation energy in this system.

Oxalate-bridged bimetallic complexes {NH(prol)3}[MCr(ox)3] (M = Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II); NH(prol)3(+) = tri(3-hydroxypropyl)ammonium) exhibiting coexistent ferromagnetism and proton conduction.

The oxalate-bridged bimetallic complexes {NH(prol)(3)}[M(II)Cr(III)(ox)(3)] (M(II) = Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II)) with hydrophilic tri(3-hydroxypropyl)ammonium (NH(prol)(3)(+)) were prepared by a new synthetic procedure, and the effects of the NH(prol)(3)(+) ion upon the structure, magnetism, and electrical conduction were studied. An X-ray crystallographic study of the MnCr dihydrate, {NH(prol)(3)}[MnCr(ox)(3)].2H(2)O, was performed.