Search

Researchers report a metal-organic framework with “gate-channel-cavity” for the energy-efficient separation of propylene. By combining sieving gates with a large diffusion channel, the material achieves record-fast diffusion and high capacity for industrial use.

Nanospace defined by unsaturated metal coordination sites opens up the possibility of controlling and templating chemical reactivity. Here, the authors show that a Fe(III) dicarboxylate framework with triangularly arranged metal sites can direct the [2+2+2] cyclisation of nitriles, alkynes and alkenes.

Covalent organic frameworks offer a highly tunable class of materials for a range of applications, although their dynamic structural transformations are challenging to analyse. Now single-crystal X-ray diffraction is shown to demonstrate single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations of the imine linkages, showing a well-defined interpenetrating topology and affording structures that have high positive thermal expansion and anhydrous proton-conduction properties.

Porous materials are promising candidates for the cost- and energy-efficient separation of ethylene and ethane from gas mixtures: an important but challenging industrial process. Now, a hydrogen-bonded organic framework has been reported that is stable under harsh conditions and can take up ethylene at practical temperatures—with very high selectivity over ethane—through a gating mechanism.

Separating ethylene from ethane is highly challenging as they have very similar physical properties. Here, a metal–organic framework is reported that, owing to its pore size and rigidity, adsorbs ethylene but almost completely excludes ethane under ambient conditions.

Zhanget al. show that simple geometry analysis can be used to predict how linker length and length ratios affect pore shape and size of porous coordination polymers. The accuracy of the predictions is confirmed by the synthesis of a series of 13 highly porous isoreticular frameworks.

The sensing of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) is important for the environment and public health but challenging to achieve. Here the authors report a stable zirconium-based metal-organic framework for the selective sensing of two representative PCCDs based on the fluorescence quenching method.

Host–guest materials open up the possibility of tuning physical properties based on the addition of appropriate guests. Here, a flexible, porous coordination polymer is reported, in which the addition of guest molecules significantly alters the thermal expansion properties as well as deforming the crystal lattice.

The separation of acetylene and carbon dioxide by porous materials requires delicate control over the pore size. Herein, the authors fine-tune the pore size at sub-nanometer scale in a series of isoreticular metal-organic frameworks to control the acetylene/carbon dioxide separation performance; subtle structural differences lead to remarkable performance enhancement.

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks can readily encapsulate native enzymes and keep them active beyond biological conditions.