A Single-Ion Conducting Borate Network Polymer as a Viable Quasi-Solid Electrolyte for Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries have remained a state-of-the-art electrochemical energy storage technology for decades now, but their energy densities are limited by electrode materials and conventional liquid electrolytes can pose significant safety concerns. Lithium metal batteries featuring Li metal anodes, solid polymer electrolytes, and high-voltage cathodes represent promising candidates for next-generation devices exhibiting improved power and safety, but such solid polymer electrolytes generally do not exhibit the required excellent electrochemical properties and thermal stability in tandem. Here, an interpenetrating network polymer with weakly coordinating anion nodes that functions as a high-performing single-ion conducting electrolyte in the presence of minimal plasticizer, with a wide electrochemical stability window, a high room-temperature conductivity of 1.5 × 10-4 S cm-1 , and exceptional selectivity for Li-ion conduction (tLi+ = 0.95) is reported. Importantly, this material is also flame retardant and highly stable in contact with lithium metal. Significantly, a lithium metal battery prototype containing this quasi-solid electrolyte is shown to outperform a conventional battery featuring a polymer electrolyte.

Near-Perfect CO2/CH4 Selectivity Achieved through Reversible Guest Templating in the Flexible Metal-Organic Framework Co(bdp).

Metal-organic frameworks are among the most promising materials for industrial gas separations, including the removal of carbon dioxide from natural gas, although substantial improvements in adsorption selectivity are still sought. Herein, we use equilibrium adsorption experiments to demonstrate that the flexible metal-organic framework Co(bdp) (bdp2- = 1,4-benzenedipyrazolate) exhibits a large CO2 adsorption capacity and approaches complete exclusion of CH4 under 50:50 mixtures of the two gases, leading to outstanding CO2/CH4 selectivity under these conditions. In situ powder X-ray diffraction data indicate that this selectivity arises from reversible guest templating, in which the framework expands to form a CO2 clathrate and then collapses to the nontemplated phase upon desorption. Under an atmosphere dominated by CH4, Co(bdp) adsorbs minor amounts of CH4 along with CO2, highlighting the importance of studying all relevant pressure and composition ranges via multicomponent measurements when examining mixed-gas selectivity in structurally flexible materials. Altogether, these results show that Co(bdp) may be a promising CO2/CH4 separation material and provide insights for the further study of flexible adsorbents for gas separations.

Thermally Rearranged Polymer Membranes Containing Tröger's Base Units Have Exceptional Performance for Air Separations.

The influence of segmental chain motion on the gas separation performance of thermally rearranged (TR) polymer membranes is established for TR polybenzoxazoles featuring Tröger's base (TB) monomer subunits as exceptionally rigid sites of contortion along the polymer backbone. These polymers are accessed from solution-processable ortho-acetate functionalized polyimides, which are readily synthesized as high-molecular-weight polymers for membrane casting. We find that thermal rearrangement leads to a small increase in d-spacing between polymer chains and a dramatic pore-network reconfiguration that increases both membrane permeability and O2 /N2 selectivity, putting its performance above the 2015 upper bound.

Engineered Transport in Microporous Materials and Membranes for Clean Energy Technologies.

Many forward-looking clean-energy technologies hinge on the development of scalable and efficient membrane-based separations. Ongoing investment in the basic research of microporous materials is beginning to pay dividends in membrane technology maturation. Specifically, improvements in membrane selectivity, permeability, and durability are being leveraged for more efficient carbon capture, desalination, and energy storage, and the market adoption of membranes in those areas appears to be on the horizon. Herein, an overview of the microporous materials chemistry driving advanced membrane development, the clean-energy separations employing them, and the theoretical underpinnings tying membrane performance to membrane structure across multiple length scales is provided. The interplay of pore architecture and chemistry for a given set of analytes emerges as a critical design consideration dictating mass transport outcomes. Opportunities and outstanding challenges in the field are also discussed, including high-flux 2D molecular-sieving membranes, phase-change adsorbents as performance-enhancing components in composite membranes, and the need for quantitative metrologies for understanding mass transport in heterophasic materials and in micropores with unusual chemical interactions with analytes of interest.

M2(m-dobdc) (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Metal-Organic Frameworks as Highly Selective, High-Capacity Adsorbents for Olefin/Paraffin Separations.

The metal-organic frameworks M2(m-dobdc) (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni; m-dobdc4- = 4,6-dioxido-1,3-benzenedicarboxylate) were evaluated as adsorbents for separating olefins from paraffins. Using single-component and multicomponent equilibrium gas adsorption measurements, we show that the coordinatively unsaturated M2+ sites in these materials lead to superior performance for the physisorptive separation of ethylene from ethane and propylene from propane relative to any known adsorbent, including para-functionalized structural isomers of the type M2(p-dobdc) (p-dobdc4- = 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate). Notably, the M2(m-dobdc) frameworks all exhibit an increased affinity for olefins over paraffins relative to their corresponding structural isomers, with the Fe, Co, and Ni variants showing more than double the selectivity. Among these frameworks, Fe2(m-dobdc) displays the highest ethylene/ethane (>25) and propylene/propane (>55) selectivity under relevant conditions, together with olefin capacities exceeding 7 mmol/g. Differential enthalpy calculations in conjunction with structural characterization of ethylene binding in Co2(m-dobdc) and Co2(p-dobdc) via in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveal that the vast improvement in selectivity arises from enhanced metal-olefin interactions induced by increased charge density at the metal site. Moderate olefin binding enthalpies, below 55 and 70 kJ/mol for ethylene and propylene, respectively, indicate that these adsorbents maintain sufficient reversibility under mild regeneration conditions. Additionally, transient adsorption experiments show fast kinetics, with more than 90% of ethylene adsorption occurring within 30 s after dosing. Breakthrough measurements further indicate that Co2(m-dobdc) can produce high purity olefins without a temperature swing, an important test of process applicability. The excellent olefin/paraffin selectivity, high olefin capacity, rapid adsorption kinetics, and low raw materials cost make the M2(m-dobdc) frameworks the materials of choice for adsorptive olefin/paraffin separations.

Diamine-Appended Mg2(dobpdc) Nanorods as Phase-Change Fillers in Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Efficient CO2/N2 Separations.

Despite the availability of chemistries to tailor the pore architectures of microporous polymer membranes for chemical separations, trade-offs in permeability and selectivity with functional group manipulations nevertheless persist, which ultimately places an upper bound on membrane performance. Here we introduce a new design strategy to uncouple these attributes of the membrane. Key to our success is the incorporation of phase-change metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) into the polymer matrix, which can be used to increase the solubility of a specific gas in the membrane, and thereby its permeability. We further show that it is necessary to scale the size of the phase-change MOF to nanoscopic dimensions, in order to take advantage of this effect in a gas separation. Our observation of an increase in solubility and permeability of only one of the gases during steady-state permeability measurements suggests fast exchange between free and chemisorbed gas molecules within the MOF pores. While the kinetics of this exchange in phase-change MOFs are not yet fully understood, their role in enhancing the efficacy and efficiency of the separation is clearly a compelling new direction for membrane technology.

Enhanced ethylene separation and plasticization resistance in polymer membranes incorporating metal-organic framework nanocrystals.

The implementation of membrane-based separations in the petrochemical industry has the potential to reduce energy consumption significantly relative to conventional separation processes. Achieving this goal, however, requires the development of new membrane materials with greater selectivity, permeability and stability than available at present. Here, we report composite materials consisting of nanocrystals of metal-organic frameworks dispersed within a high-performance polyimide, which can exhibit enhanced selectivity for ethylene over ethane, greater ethylene permeability and improved membrane stability. Our results suggest that framework-polymer interactions reduce chain mobility of the polymer while simultaneously boosting membrane separation performance. The increased stability, or plasticization resistance, is expected to improve membrane utility under real process conditions for petrochemical separations and natural gas purification. Furthermore, this approach can be broadly applied to numerous polymers that encounter aggressive environments, potentially making gas separations possible that were previously inaccessible to membranes.

Methane storage in flexible metal-organic frameworks with intrinsic thermal management.

As a cleaner, cheaper, and more globally evenly distributed fuel, natural gas has considerable environmental, economic, and political advantages over petroleum as a source of energy for the transportation sector. Despite these benefits, its low volumetric energy density at ambient temperature and pressure presents substantial challenges, particularly for light-duty vehicles with little space available for on-board fuel storage. Adsorbed natural gas systems have the potential to store high densities of methane (CH4, the principal component of natural gas) within a porous material at ambient temperature and moderate pressures. Although activated carbons, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks have been investigated extensively for CH4 storage, there are practical challenges involved in designing systems with high capacities and in managing the thermal fluctuations associated with adsorbing and desorbing gas from the adsorbent. Here, we use a reversible phase transition in a metal-organic framework to maximize the deliverable capacity of CH4 while also providing internal heat management during adsorption and desorption. In particular, the flexible compounds Fe(bdp) and Co(bdp) (bdp(2-) = 1,4-benzenedipyrazolate) are shown to undergo a structural phase transition in response to specific CH4 pressures, resulting in adsorption and desorption isotherms that feature a sharp 'step'. Such behaviour enables greater storage capacities than have been achieved for classical adsorbents, while also reducing the amount of heat released during adsorption and the impact of cooling during desorption. The pressure and energy associated with the phase transition can be tuned either chemically or by application of mechanical pressure.

Application of a high-throughput analyzer in evaluating solid adsorbents for post-combustion carbon capture via multicomponent adsorption of CO2, N2, and H2O.

Despite the large number of metal-organic frameworks that have been studied in the context of post-combustion carbon capture, adsorption equilibria of gas mixtures including CO2, N2, and H2O, which are the three biggest components of the flue gas emanating from a coal- or natural gas-fired power plant, have never been reported. Here, we disclose the design and validation of a high-throughput multicomponent adsorption instrument that can measure equilibrium adsorption isotherms for mixtures of gases at conditions that are representative of an actual flue gas from a power plant. This instrument is used to study 15 different metal-organic frameworks, zeolites, mesoporous silicas, and activated carbons representative of the broad range of solid adsorbents that have received attention for CO2 capture. While the multicomponent results presented in this work provide many interesting fundamental insights, only adsorbents functionalized with alkylamines are shown to have any significant CO2 capacity in the presence of N2 and H2O at equilibrium partial pressures similar to those expected in a carbon capture process. Most significantly, the amine-appended metal organic framework mmen-Mg2(dobpdc) (mmen = N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine, dobpdc (4-) = 4,4'-dioxido-3,3'-biphenyldicarboxylate) exhibits a record CO2 capacity of 4.2 ± 0.2 mmol/g (16 wt %) at 0.1 bar and 40 °C in the presence of a high partial pressure of H2O.

Investigation of the redox chemistry of anthraquinone derivatives using density functional theory.

Application of density functional calculations to compute electrochemical properties such as redox windows, effect of substitution by electron donating and electron withdrawing groups on redox windows, and solvation free energies for ∼50 anthraquinone (AQ) derivatives are presented because of their potential as anolytes in all-organic redox flow batteries. Computations suggest that lithium ions can increase (by ∼0.4 V) the reduction potential of anthraquinone due to the lithium ion pairing by forming a Lewis base-Lewis acid complex. To design new redox active species, the substitution by electron donating groups is essential to improve the reduction window of AQ with adequate oxidative stability. For instance, a complete methylation of AQ can improve its reduction window by ∼0.4 V. The quantum chemical studies of the ∼50 AQ derivatives are used to derive a relationship that connects the computed LUMO energy and the reduction potential that can be applied as a descriptor for screening thousands of AQ derivatives. Our computations also suggest that incorporating oxy-methyl dioxolane substituents in the AQ framework can increase its interaction with nonaqueous solvent and improve its solubility. Thermochemical calculations for likely bond breaking decomposition reactions of unsubstituted AQ anions suggest that the dianions are relatively stable in the solution. These studies provide an ideal platform to perform further combined experimental and theoretical studies to understand the electrochemical reversibility and solubility of new quinone molecules as energy storage materials.

Fe electron transfer and atom exchange in goethite: influence of Al-substitution and anion sorption.

The reaction of Fe(II) with Fe(III) oxides and hydroxides is complex and includes sorption of Fe(II) to the oxide, electron transfer between sorbed Fe(II) and structural Fe(III), reductive dissolution coupled to Fe atom exchange, and, in some cases mineral phase transformation. Much of the work investigating electron transfer and atom exchange between aqueous Fe(II) and Fe(III) oxides has been done under relatively simple aqueous conditions in organic buffers to control pH and background electrolytes to control ionic strength. Here, we investigate whether electron transfer is influenced by cation substitution of Al(III) in goethite and the presence of anions such as phosphate, carbonate, silicate, and natural organic matter. Results from (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy indicate that both Al-substitution (up to 9%) and the presence of common anions (PO(4)(3-), CO(3)(2-), SiO(4)(4-), and humic acid) does not inhibit electron transfer between aqueous Fe(II) and Fe(III) in goethite under the conditions we studied. In contrast, sorption of a long-chain phospholipid completely shuts down electron transfer. Using an enriched isotope tracer method, we found that Al-substitution in goethite (10%), does, however, significantly decrease the extent of atom exchange between Fe(II) and goethite (from 43 to 12%) over a month's time. Phosphate, somewhat surprisingly, appears to have little effect on the rate and extent of atom exchange between aqueous Fe(II) and goethite. Our results show that electron transfer between aqueous Fe(II) and solid Fe(III) in goethite can occur under wide range of geochemical conditions, but that the extent of redox-driven Fe atom exchange may be dependent on the presence of substituting cations such as Al.

Inhibition of trace element release during Fe(II)-activated recrystallization of Al-, Cr-, and Sn-substituted goethite and hematite.

Aqueous Fe(II) reacts with Fe(III) oxides by coupled electron transfer and atom exchange (ETAE) resulting in mineral recrystallization, contaminant reduction, and trace element cycling. Previous studies of Fe(II)-Fe(III) ETAE have explored the reactivity of either pure iron oxide phases or those containing small quantities of soluble trace elements. Naturally occurring iron oxides, however, contain substantial quantities of insoluble impurities (e.g., Al) which are known to affect the chemical properties of such minerals. Here we explore the effect of Al(III), Cr(III), and Sn(IV) substitution (1-8 mol %) on trace element release from Ni(II)-substituted goethite and Zn(II)-substituted hematite during reaction with aqueous Fe(II). Fe(II)-activated trace element release is substantially inhibited from both minerals when an insoluble element is cosubstituted into the structure, and the total amount of release decreases exponentially with increasing cosubstituent. The limited changes in surface composition that occur following reaction with Fe(II) indicate that Al, Cr, and Sn do not exsolve from the structure and that Ni and Zn released to solution originate primarily from the bulk rather than the particle exterior (upper ~3 nm). Incorporation of Al into goethite substantially decreases the amount of iron atom exchange with aqueous Fe(II) and, consequently, the amount of Ni release from the structure. This implies that trace element release inhibition caused by substituting insoluble elements results from a decrease in the amount of mineral recrystallization. These results suggest that naturally occurring iron oxides containing insoluble elements are less susceptible to Fe(II)-activated recrystallization and exhibit a greater retention of trace elements and contaminants than pure mineral phases.