Bimetallic Aluminum- and Niobium-Doped MCM-41 for Efficient Conversion of Biomass-Derived 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran to Pentadienes.

The production of conjugated C4-C5 dienes from biomass can enable the sustainable synthesis of many important polymers and liquid fuels. Here, we report the first example of bimetallic (Nb, Al)-atomically doped mesoporous silica, denoted as AlNb-MCM-41, which affords quantitative conversion of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) to pentadienes with a high selectivity of 91 %. The incorporation of AlIII and NbV sites into the framework of AlNb-MCM-41 has effectively tuned the nature and distribution of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites within the structure. Operando X-ray absorption, diffuse reflectance infrared and solid-state NMR spectroscopy collectively reveal the molecular mechanism of the conversion of adsorbed 2-MTHF over AlNb-MCM-41. Specifically, the atomically-dispersed NbV sites play an important role in binding 2-MTHF to drive the conversion. Overall, this study highlights the potential of hetero-atomic mesoporous solids for the manufacture of renewable materials.

Bimetallic Aluminum- and Niobium-Doped MCM-41 for Efficient Conversion of Biomass-Derived 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran to Pentadienes.

The production of conjugated C4-C5 dienes from biomass can enable the sustainable synthesis of many important polymers and liquid fuels. Here, we report the first example of bimetallic (Nb, Al)-atomically doped mesoporous silica, denoted as AlNb-MCM-41, which affords quantitative conversion of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) to pentadienes with a high selectivity of 91 %. The incorporation of AlIII and NbV sites into the framework of AlNb-MCM-41 has effectively tuned the nature and distribution of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites within the structure. Operando X-ray absorption, diffuse reflectance infrared and solid-state NMR spectroscopy collectively reveal the molecular mechanism of the conversion of adsorbed 2-MTHF over AlNb-MCM-41. Specifically, the atomically-dispersed NbV sites play an important role in binding 2-MTHF to drive the conversion. Overall, this study highlights the potential of hetero-atomic mesoporous solids for the manufacture of renewable materials.

Structural evolution of iron forming iron oxide in a deep eutectic-solvothermal reaction.

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) and their hydrated mixtures are used for solvothermal routes towards greener functional nanomaterials. Here we present the first static structural and in situ studies of the formation of iron oxide (hematite) nanoparticles in a DES of choline chloride : urea where xurea = 0.67 (aka. reline) as an exemplar solvothermal reaction, and observe the effects of water on the reaction. The initial speciation of Fe3+ in DES solutions was measured using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), while the atomistic structure of the mixture was resolved from neutron and X-ray diffraction and empirical potential structure refinement (EPSR) modelling. The reaction was monitored using in situ small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), to determine mesoscale changes, and EXAFS, to determine local rearrangements of order around iron ions. It is shown that iron salts form an octahedral [Fe(L)3(Cl)3] complex where (L) represents various O-containing ligands. Solubilised Fe3+ induced subtle structural rearrangements in the DES due to abstraction of chloride into complexes and distortion of H-bonding around complexes. EXAFS suggests the complex forms [-O-Fe-O-] oligomers by reaction with the products of thermal hydrolysis of urea, and is thus pseudo-zero-order in iron. In the hydrated DES, the reaction, nucleation and growth proceeds rapidly, whereas in the pure DES, the reaction initially proceeds quickly, but suddenly slows after 5000 s. In situ SANS and static small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments reveal that nanoparticles spontaneously nucleate after 5000 s of reaction time in the pure DES before slow growth. Contrast effects observed in SANS measurements suggest that hydrated DES preferentially form 1D particle morphologies because of choline selectively capping surface crystal facets to direct growth along certain axes, whereas capping is restricted by the solvent structure in the pure DES.

The synthesis and characterisation of coordination and hydrogen-bonded networks based on 4-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)benzoic acid.

The synthesis, structural and thermal characterisation of a number of coordination complexes featuring the N,O-heteroditopic ligand 4-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)benzoate, HL are reported. The reaction of H2L with cobalt(II) and nickel(II) nitrates at room temperature in basic DMF/H2O solution gave discrete mononuclear coordination complexes with the general formula {[M(HL)2(H2O)4]·2DMF} (M = Co (1), Ni (2)), whereas the reaction with zinc(II) nitrate gave [Zn(HL)2]∞, 3, a coordination polymer with distorted diamondoid topology and fourfold interpenetration. Coordination about the tetrahedral Zn(II) nodes in 3 are furnished by two pyrazolyl nitrogen atoms and two carboxylate oxygen atoms to give a mixed N2O2 donor set. Isotopological coordination polymers of zinc(II), {[Zn(HL)2]·2CH3OH·H2O}∞, 4, and cobalt(II), [Co(HL)2]∞, 5, are formed when the reactions are carried out under solvothermal conditions in methanol (80 °C) and water (180 °C), respectively. The reaction of H2L with cadmium(II) nitrate at room temperature in methanol gives {[Cd(HL)2(MeOH)2]·1.8MeOH}∞6, a 2-D (4,4)-connected coordination polymer, whereas with copper(II) the formation of green crystals that transform into purple crystals is observed. The metastable green phase [Cu3(HL)4(µ2-SO4)(H2O)3]∞, 7, crystallises with conserved binding domains of the heteroditopic ligand and contains two different metal nodes: a dicopper carboxylate paddle wheel motif, and, a dicopper unit bridged by sulfate ions and coordinated by ligand pyrazolyl nitrogen atoms. The resultant purple phase {[Cu(HL)2]·4CH3OH·H2O}∞, 8, however, has single copper ion nodes coordinated by mixed N2O2 donor sets with trans-square planar geometry and is threefold interpenetrated. The desolvation of 8 was followed by powder X-ray diffraction and single crystal X-ray diffraction which show desolvation induces the transition to a more closely packed structure while the coordination geometry about the copper ions and the network topology is retained. Powder X-ray diffraction and microanalysis were used to characterise the bulk purity of the coordination materials 1­6 and 8. The thermal characteristics of 1­2, 4­6 and 8 were studied by TG-DTA. This led to the curious observation of small exothermic events in networks 4, 6, and 8 that appear to be linked to their decomposition. In addition, the solid state structures of H2L and that of its protonated salt, H2L·HNO3, were also determined and revealed that H2L forms a 2-D hydrogen bonded polymer incorporating helical chains formed through N­HO and O­HN interactions, and that [H3L]NO3 forms a 1-D hydrogen-bonded polymer.

Incorporation by coordination and release of the iron chelator drug deferiprone from zinc-based metal-organic frameworks.

A series of new zinc-based metal-organic framework materials has been prepared in which deferiprone is incorporated as a chelating ligand on infinite or tri-zinc secondary building units following deprotonation. Deferiprone is immediately released from the MOFs on treatments with 1 N hydrochloric acid or buffer, but slow release is observed in ethanoic acid.

Synthesis and post-synthetic modification of MIL-101(Cr)-NH2 via a tandem diazotisation process.

The functionalised metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr)-NH(2), containing 2-aminobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate as the linker, has been synthesised. A new tandem post-synthetic modification strategy involving diazotisation as the first step has been developed and used to introduce halo- and azo dye-functional groups into the pores.