Multimodal Imaging of Autofluorescent Sites Reveals Varied Chemical Speciation in SSZ-13 Crystals.

A multimodal imaging study of chabazite is used to show the distribution of and discriminate between different emissive deposits arising as a result of the detemplation process. Confocal imaging, 3D fluorescence lifetime imaging, 3D multispectral fluorescence imaging, and Raman mapping are used to show three different types of emissive behaviours each characterised by different spatial distributions, trends in lifetime, spectral signals, and Raman signatures. A notable difference is seen in the morphology of agglomerated surface deposits and larger subsurface deposits, which experience lifetime augmentation due to spatial confinement. The distribution of organic residue throughout the crystal volume is comparable to XRF mapping that shows Si enrichment on the outer edges and higher Al content through the centre, demonstrating that a fluorescence-based technique can also be used to indirectly comment on the compositional chemistry of the inorganic framework.

4D In-Situ Microscopy of Aerosol Filtration in a Wall Flow Filter.

The transient nature of the internal pore structure of particulate wall flow filters, caused by the continuous deposition of particulate matter, makes studying their flow and filtration characteristics challenging. In this article we present a new methodology and first experimental demonstration of time resolved in-situ synchrotron micro X-ray computed tomography (micro-CT) to study aerosol filtration. We directly imaged in 4D (3D plus time) pore scale deposits of TiO2 nanoparticles (nominal mean primary diameter of 25 nm) with a pixel resolution of 1.6 µm. We obtained 3D tomograms at a rate of ∼1 per minute. The combined spatial and temporal resolution allows us to observe pore blocking and filling phenomena as they occur in the filter's pore space. We quantified the reduction in filter porosity over time, from an initial porosity of 0.60 to a final porosity of 0.56 after 20 min. Furthermore, the penetration depth of particulate deposits and filtration rate was quantified. This novel image-based method offers valuable and statistically relevant insights into how the pore structure and function evolves during particulate filtration. Our data set will allow validation of simulations of automotive wall flow filters. Evolutions of this experimental design have potential for the study of a wide range of dry aerosol filters and could be directly applied to catalysed automotive wall flow filters.

Porous Metal-Organic Polyhedra: Morphology, Porosity, and Guest Binding.

Designing porous materials which can selectively adsorb CO2 or CH4 is an important environmental and industrial goal which requires an understanding of the host-guest interactions involved at the atomic scale. Metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) showing permanent porosity upon desolvation are rarely observed. We report a family of MOPs (Cu-1a, Cu-1b, Cu-2), which derive their permanent porosity from cavities between packed cages rather than from within the polyhedra. Thus, for Cu-1a, the void fraction outside the cages totals 56% with only 2% within. The relative stabilities of these MOP structures are rationalized by considering their weak nondirectional packing interactions using Hirshfeld surface analyses. The exceptional stability of Cu-1a enables a detailed structural investigation into the adsorption of CO2 and CH4 using in situ X-ray and neutron diffraction, coupled with DFT calculations. The primary binding sites for adsorbed CO2 and CH4 in Cu-1a are found to be the open metal sites and pockets defined by the faces of phenyl rings. More importantly, the structural analysis of a hydrated sample of Cu-1a reveals a strong hydrogen bond between the adsorbed CO2 molecule and the Cu(II)-bound water molecule, shedding light on previous empirical and theoretical observations that partial hydration of metal-organic framework (MOF) materials containing open metal sites increases their uptake of CO2. The results of the crystallographic study on MOP-gas binding have been rationalized using DFT calculations, yielding individual binding energies for the various pore environments of Cu-1a.

Detection of key transient Cu intermediates in SSZ-13 during NH3-SCR deNO x by modulation excitation IR spectroscopy.

The small pore zeolite Cu-SSZ-13 is an efficient material for the standard selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) by ammonia (NH3). In this work, Cu-SSZ-13 has been studied at 250 °C under high conversion using a modulation excitation approach and analysed with phase sensitive detection (PSD). While the complementary X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy measurements showed that the experiments were performed under cyclic Cu+/Cu2+ redox, Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments provide spectroscopic evidence for previously postulated intermediates Cu-N([double bond, length as m-dash]O)-NH2 and Cu-NO3 in the NH3-SCR deNO x mechanism and for the role of [Cu2+(OH-)]+. These results therefore help in building towards a more comprehensive understanding of the reaction mechanism which to date has only been postulated in silico.

Effects of crystal size on methanol to hydrocarbon conversion over single crystals of ZSM-5 studied by synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy.

Operando synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy (OIMS) was used to study the conversion of methanol over coffin-shaped HZSM-5 crystals of different sizes: large (∼250 × 80 × 85 µm3), medium (∼160 × 60 × 60 µm3) and small (∼55 × 30 × 30 µm3). The induction period, for direct alkene formation by deprotonation of surface methoxy groups, was found to decrease with decreasing crystal size and with increasing reaction temperature. Experiments with a continuous flow of dimethylether showed that evolution of the hydrocarbon pool and indirect alkene formation is also strongly dependent on crystal size. These measurements suggest that the hydrocarbon pool formation and indirect alkene generation should be almost instantaneous at reaction temperatures used in practical catalysis with crystal sizes typically ∼1 µm3.

Operando Spectroscopic Studies of Cu-SSZ-13 for NH3-SCR deNOx Investigates the Role of NH3 in Observed Cu(II) Reduction at High NO Conversions.

The small pore zeolite chabazite (SSZ-13) in the copper exchanged form is a very efficient material for the selective catalytic reduction by ammonia (NH3) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the exhaust of lean burn engines, typically diesel powered vehicles. The full mechanism occurring during the NH3-SCR process is currently debated with outstanding questions including the nature and role of the catalytically active sites. Time-resolved operando spectroscopic techniques have been used to provide new level of insights in to the mechanism of NH3-SCR, to show that the origin of stable Cu(I) species under SCR conditions is potentially caused by an interaction between NH3 and the Cu cations located in eight ring sites of the bulk of the zeolite and is independent of the NH3-SCR of NOx occurring at Cu six ring sites within the zeolite.

Reactions of Dimethylether in Single Crystals of the Silicoaluminophosphate STA-7 Studied via Operando Synchrotron Infrared Microspectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Synchrotron infrared micro-spectroscopy has been applied to measure in situ the reaction of dimethylether in single crystals of the silicoaluminophosphate STA-7. The crystals are found to contain a uniform and homogeneous distribution of acidic hydroxyl groups. Dimethylether is hydrogen bonded to the hydroxyl groups at low temperatures, but evidence is found for dissociation to form surface methoxy groups above 473 K, and aromatic hydrocarbon pool species above 573 K. From time resolved infrared measurements coupled with MS analysis of evolved products it is concluded that alkene formation occurs via a direct mechanism from reaction of dimethylether with surface methoxy groups.

A zeolite family with expanding structural complexity and embedded isoreticular structures.

The prediction and synthesis of new crystal structures enable the targeted preparation of materials with desired properties. Among porous solids, this has been achieved for metal-organic frameworks, but not for the more widely applicable zeolites, where new materials are usually discovered using exploratory synthesis. Although millions of hypothetical zeolite structures have been proposed, not enough is known about their synthesis mechanism to allow any given structure to be prepared. Here we present an approach that combines structure solution with structure prediction, and inspires the targeted synthesis of new super-complex zeolites. We used electron diffraction to identify a family of related structures and to discover the structural 'coding' within them. This allowed us to determine the complex, and previously unknown, structure of zeolite ZSM-25 (ref. 8), which has the largest unit-cell volume of all known zeolites (91,554 cubic ångströms) and demonstrates selective CO2 adsorption. By extending our method, we were able to predict other members of a family of increasingly complex, but structurally related, zeolites and to synthesize two more-complex zeolites in the family, PST-20 and PST-25, with much larger cell volumes (166,988 and 275,178 cubic ångströms, respectively) and similar selective adsorption properties. Members of this family have the same symmetry, but an expanding unit cell, and are related by hitherto unrecognized structural principles; we call these family members embedded isoreticular zeolite structures.

In situ synchrotron IR microspectroscopy of CO2 adsorption on single crystals of the functionalized MOF Sc2(BDC-NH2)3.

Synchrotron radiation (SR) IR microspectroscopy has enabled determination of the thermodynamics, kinetics, and molecular orientation of CO2 adsorbed in single microcrystals of a functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) under conditions relevant to carbon capture from flue gases. Single crystals of the small-pore MOF, Sc2 (BDC-NH2 )3 , (BDC-NH2 =2-amino-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate), with well-defined crystal form have been investigated during CO2 uptake at partial pressures of 0.025-0.2 bar at 298-373 K. The enthalpy and diffusivity of adsorption determined from individual single crystals are consistent with values obtained from measurements on bulk samples. The brilliant SR IR source permits rapid collection of polarized spectra. Strong variations in absorbance of the symmetric stretch of the NH2 groups of the MOF and the asymmetric stretch of the adsorbed CO2 at different orientations of the crystals relative to the polarized IR light show that CO2 molecules align along channels in the MOF.

Stabilization of scandium terephthalate MOFs against reversible amorphization and structural phase transition by guest uptake at extreme pressure.

Previous high-pressure experiments have shown that pressure-transmitting fluids composed of small molecules can be forced inside the pores of metal organic framework materials, where they can cause phase transitions and amorphization and can even induce porosity in conventionally nonporous materials. Here we report a combined high-pressure diffraction and computational study of the structural response to methanol uptake at high pressure on a scandium terephthalate MOF (Sc2BDC3, BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) and its nitro-functionalized derivative (Sc2(NO2-BDC)3) and compare it to direct compression behavior in a nonpenetrative hydrostatic fluid, Fluorinert-77. In Fluorinert-77, Sc2BDC3 displays amorphization above 0.1 GPa, reversible upon pressure release, whereas Sc2(NO2-BDC)3 undergoes a phase transition (C2/c to Fdd2) to a denser but topologically identical polymorph. In the presence of methanol, the reversible amorphization of Sc2BDC3 and the displacive phase transition of the nitro-form are completely inhibited (at least up to 3 GPa). Upon uptake of methanol on Sc2BDC3, the methanol molecules are found by diffraction to occupy two sites, with preferential relative filling of one site compared to the other: grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations support these experimental observations, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal the likely orientations of the methanol molecules, which are controlled at least in part by H-bonding interactions between guests. As well as revealing the atomistic origin of the stabilization of these MOFs against nonpenetrative hydrostatic fluids at high pressure, this study demonstrates a novel high-pressure approach to study adsorption within a porous framework as a function of increasing guest content, and so to determine the most energetically favorable adsorption sites.

High-nuclearity metal-organic nanospheres: a Cd66 ball.

Reaction of H(3)L with Cd(NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O in DMF at 150 °C for 3 days affords the metal-organic nanosphere [Cd(66)(µ(3)-OH)(28)(µ(3)-O)(16)(µ(5)-NO(3)-O,O,O',O',O″,O″)(12)(L)(20)(µ(2)-DMF)(12)⊂(DMF)(9)]. The cluster is composed of a spherical shell of 66 Cd(II) cations bridged by 28 µ(3)-hydroxide, 16 µ(3)-oxo, and five µ(5)-NO(3)(-) anions surrounded by a shell of 20 tripodal capping ligands (L) and 12 DMF ligands. The 66 Cd(II) cations and 12 NO(3)(-) anions form a polydeltahedron that has 78 vertices [Cd(II) or NO(3)(-)] (V), 228 edges (E), and 152 triangular faces (F), giving it an Euler characteristic (χ) of 2 (χ = V + F - E). Reaction of H(3)L with Cd(NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O at lower temperatures or with CdCl(2) affords coordination polymer frameworks instead of nanospheres.

Exceptional thermal stability in a supramolecular organic framework: porosity and gas storage.

Reaction of ß-amino-ß-(pyrid-4-yl)acrylonitrile with the aromatic dicarboxaldehydes 9,10-bis(4-formylphenyl)anthracene and terephthalaldehyde affords the dihydropyridyl products 9,10-bis(4-((3,5-dicyano-2,6-dipyridyl)dihydropyridyl)phenyl)anthracene (L(1)) and 1,4-bis(4-(3,5-dicyano-2,6-dipyridyl)dihydropyridyl)benzene (L(2)), respectively. In the solid state [L(1)]·2.5DMF·3MeOH (SOF-1) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c and forms a 3D stable supramolecular organic framework via strong N-H···N(py) hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions. The material incorporates pyridyl-decorated channels and shows permanent porosity in the solid state. The pore volumes of the desolvated framework SOF-1a calculated from the N(2) isotherm at 125 K and the CO(2) isotherm at 195 K are 0.227 and 0.244 cm(3) g(-1), respectively. The N(2) absorption capacity of SOF-1a at 77 K is very low, with an uptake of 0.63 mmol g(-1) at 1 bar, although saturation N(2) adsorption at 125 K is 6.55 mmol g(-1) (or 143 cm(3) g(-1)). At ambient temperature, SOF-1a shows significant CO(2) adsorption with approximately 3 mol of CO(2) absorbed per mole of host at 16 bar and 298 K, corresponding to 69 cm(3) g(-1) at STP. SOF-1a also adsorbs significant amounts of C(2)H(2), with an uptake of 124 cm(3) (STP) g(-1) (5.52 mmol g(-1)) at 1 bar at 195 K. Methane uptake at 195 K and 1 bar is 69 cm(3) (STP) g(-1). Overall, gas adsorption measurements on desolvated framework SOF-1a reveal not only high capacity uptakes for C(2)H(2) and CO(2), compared to other crystalline molecular organic solids, but also an adsorption selectivity in the order C(2)H(2) > CO(2) > CH(4) > N(2). Overall, C(2)H(2)(270 K)/CH(4)(273 K) selectivity is 33.7 based on Henry's Law constant, while the C(2)H(2)(270 K)/CO(2)(273 K) ratio of uptake at 1 bar is 2.05. The less bulky analogue L(2) crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 as two different solvates [L(2)]·2DMF·5C(6)H(6) (S2A) and [L(2)]·2DMF·4MeOH (S2B) as pale yellow tablets and blocks, respectively. Each L(2) molecule in S2A participates in two N-H···O hydrogen bonds between dihydropyridyl rings and solvent DMF molecules. Packing of these layers generates 1D nanochannels along the crystallographic a and b axes which host DMF and benzene molecules. In S2B, each L(2) ligand participates in hydrogen bonding via an N-H···O interaction between the N-H of the dihydropyridyl ring and the O of a MeOH and also via an N···H-O interaction between the N center of a pyridine ring and the H-O of a second MeOH molecule. The presence of the L(2)-HOMe hydrogen bonds prevents ligand-ligand hydrogen bonding. As a result, S2B crystallizes as one-dimensional chains rather than as an extended 3D network. Thermal removal of solvents from S2A results in conversion to denser phase S2C which shows no effective permanent porosity.