NU-1000 Metal-organic Framework Research Articles

Crystal Clear: Metal-Organic Frameworks Pioneering the Path to Future Drug Detox.

The growing number of acute drug abuse overdoses demands the development of innovative detoxification strategies for emergency purposes. In this study, an innovative approach for the application of porous Zr-based metal-organic frameworks for the treatment of acute overdoses of popular drugs of abuse including amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA is presented. A comprehensive approach determining the efficacy and the kinetics of drug removal, considering dosage, adsorption time, and adsorption mechanisms, was tested and corroborated with density functional theory (DFT) modeling. The experimental results showed high removal efficiency reaching up to 90% in the case of the application of the NU-1000 metal-organic framework. The difference Raman spectroscopy method presented in this study corroborated with DFT-based vibrational analysis allows the detection of drug adsorbed in the MOF framework even with as low a concentration as 5 mg/g. Additionally, the drug adsorption mechanisms were modeled with DFT, showing the π-π stacking in a vast majority of considered cases. The performance and influence on the living organisms were evaluated throughout the in vitro and in vivo experiments, indicating that Zr-based MOFs could serve as efficient, organic, safe drug adsorbents.

Design and Advanced Manufacturing of NU-1000 Metal-Organic Frameworks with Future Perspectives for Environmental and Renewable Energy Applications.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) represent a relatively new family of materials that attract lots of attention thanks to their unique features such as hierarchical porosity, active metal centers, versatility of linkers/metal nodes, and large surface area. Among the extended list of MOFs, Zr-based-MOFs demonstrate comparably superior chemical and thermal stabilities, making them ideal candidates for energy and environmental applications. As a Zr-MOF, NU-1000 is first synthesized at Northwestern University. A comprehensive review of various approaches to the synthesis of NU-1000 MOFs for obtaining unique surface properties (e.g., diverse surface morphologies, large surface area, and particular pore size distribution) and their applications in the catalysis (electro-, and photo-catalysis), CO2 reduction, batteries, hydrogen storage, gas storage/separation, and other environmental fields are presented. The review further outlines the current challenges in the development of NU-1000 MOFs and their derivatives in practical applications, revealing areas for future investigation.

Directing the Selectivity of Oxygen Reduction to Water by Confining a Cu Catalyst in a Metal Organic Framework.

Electrocatalysis is to play a key role in the transition towards a sustainable chemical- and energy industry and active, stable and selective redox catalysts are very much needed. Porous structures such as Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are interesting materials as these may influence selectivity of chemical reactions through confinement effects. In this work, we incorporate the oxygen reduction catalyst Cu-tmpa into the NU1000 MOF. Confinement of the catalyst within Nu1000 steers the selectivity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) towards water rather than peroxide. This is attributed to retention of the obligatory H2O2 intermediate in close proximity to the catalytic center. Moreover the resulting Nu1000/Cu-tmpa MOF shows an excellent activity and stability in prolonged electrochemical studies, illustrating the potential of this approach.

Computational study of the conversion of methane and carbon dioxide to acetic acid over NU-1000 metal–organic framework-supported single-atom metal catalysts

The conversion of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to more valuable chemicals is attracting attention from an industrial and environmental perspective; however, this process is a great challenge in catalysis, because of the high stabilities of CH4 and CO2. Herein, we investigate the CH4 and CO2 conversion to acetic acid over NU-1000 metal–organic framework (MOF)-supported single-atom catalysts (SACs) (M-NU-1000, M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) using density functional calculations. The reaction proceeds in three steps: first, a CH4 C–H bond dissociates to form a methyl intermediate. Then, an acetate intermediate is formed via C–C bond coupling between the methyl carbon atom and CO2. Finally, the acetate abstracts a proton to form the acetic acid product. We discover that Cu-NU-1000 exhibits the highest catalytic activity as compared to the other catalysts, based on its overall reaction barrier and rate constants. We also disclose two suitable descriptors to approximately predict the overall activation barrier of the reaction. One is the complexation energies difference between CO2 adsorbed on a methyl intermediate and CH4 adsorbed on the SACs used in this study. Another plausible descriptor is the difference between complexation energies of acetate intermediate and the CH4 adsorption. The supported NU-1000 MOFs are also found to accelerate the stability of all species formed along the reaction coordinates, especially during the transition states.

Heterogeneous nanozymatic activity of Hf oxo-clusters embedded in a metal-organic framework towards peptide bond hydrolysis.

Materials with enzyme-like activities and proteolytic potential are emerging as a robust and effective alternative to natural enzymes. Herein, a Hf6O8-based NU-1000 metal organic framework (Hf-MOF) is shown to act as a heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrolysis of peptide bonds under mild conditions. In the presence of Hf-MOF, a glycylglycine model dipeptide was hydrolysed with a rate constant of kobs = 8.33 × 10-7 s-1 (half-life (t1/2) of 231 h) at 60 °C and pD 7.4, which is significantly faster than the uncatalyzed reaction. Other Gly-X peptides (X = Ser, Asp, Ile, Ala, and His) were also smoothly hydrolysed under the same conditions with similar rates, except for the faster reactions observed for Gly-His and Gly-Ser. Moreover, the Hf6O8-based NU-1000 MOF also exhibits a high selectivity in the cleavage of a protein substrate, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL). Our results suggest that embedding Hf6O8 oxo-clusters is an efficient strategy to conserve the hydrolytic activity while smoothing the strong substrate adsorption previously observed for a discrete Hf oxo-cluster that hindered further development of its proteolytic potential. Furthermore, comparison with isostructural Zr-NU-1000 shows that although the Hf variant afforded the same cleavage pattern towards HEWL but slightly slower reaction rates, it exhibited a larger stability window and a better recyclability profile. The results suggest that these differences originate from the intrinsic differences between HfIV and ZrIV centers, and from the lower surface area of Hf-NU-1000 in comparison to Zr-NU-1000.

Controlling Polymorphism and Orientation of NU-901/NU-1000 Metal–Organic Framework Thin Films

NU-1000, a zirconium (Zr)-based metal–organic framework (MOF), is a promising candidate for heterogeneous catalysis, gas storage, electrocatalysis, and drug-delivery applications due to its large p...

Effects of Phase Purity and Pore Reinforcement on Mechanical Behavior of NU-1000 and Silica-Infiltrated NU-1000 Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials have shown promise in many applications, ranging from gas storage to absorption and catalysis. Because of the high porosity and low density of many MOFs, densification methods such as pelletization and extrusion are needed for practical use and for commercialization of MOF materials. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the mechanical properties of MOFs and to develop methods of further enhancing their mechanical strength. Here, we demonstrate the influence of phase purity and the presence of a pore-reinforcing component on elastic modulus and yield stress of NU-1000 MOFs through nanoindentation methods and finite element simulation. Three types of NU-1000 single crystals were compared: phase-pure NU-1000 prepared with biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid as a modulator (NU-1000-bip), NU-1000 prepared with benzoic acid as a modulator (NU-1000-ben), which results in an additional, denser impurity phase of NU-901, and NU-1000-bip whose mesopores were infiltrated with silica (SiOx(OH)y@NU-1000) by nanocasting methods. By maintaining phase purity and minimizing defects, the elastic modulus could be enhanced by nearly an order of magnitude: phase-pure NU-1000-bip crystals exhibited an elastic modulus of 21 GPa, whereas the value for NU-1000-ben crystals was only 3 GPa. The introduction of silica into the mesopores of NU-1000-bip did not strongly affect the measured elastic modulus (19 GPa) but significantly increased the load at failure from 2000 μN to 3000-4000 μN.

Hydrogen Atom or Proton Coupled Electron Transfer? C-H Bond Activation by Transition-Metal Oxides.

The C-H bond activation in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by heterobimetallic oxide clusters (first-row transition metals), deposited on the zirconium oxide node of the NU-1000 metal organic framework, was investigated by multireference wave function theory. The redox-active part of the systems studied has the composition (CoO)(MO)(OH)2 with M = Ti, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn. In this series, the energy of H transfer from propane to the metal oxide (ΔE) varies from -26 kcal/mol for M = Cu, Zn to 85 kcal/mol for M = Ti. This is accompanied by a change in the mechanism from hydrogen atom transfer, M2+(dn) O•- → M2+(dn) OH-, for M = Cu, Zn to proton coupled electron transfer, Mm+(dn) O2- → M(m-1)+(dn+1) OH-, for M = Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Ti. Whereas for M = Ni (ΔE = -13 kcal/mol) Ni+III is reduced to Ni+II, for M = Co, Fe, Mn (ΔE = 1, 10, 6 kcal/mol, respectively) it is Co+III that is reduced to Co+II. For M = Ti, Ti maintains its +IV oxidation state and Co+II is reduced to Co+I.

Magnesium Exchanged Zirconium Metal-Organic Frameworks with Improved Detoxification Properties of Nerve Agents.

UiO-66, MOF-808 and NU-1000 metal-organic frameworks exhibit a differentiated reactivity toward [Mg(OMe)2(MeOH)2]4 related to their pore accessibility. Microporous UiO-66 remains unchanged while mesoporous MOF-808 and hierarchical micro/mesoporous NU-1000 materials yield doped systems containing exposed MgZr5O2(OH)6 clusters in the mesoporous cavities. This modification is responsible for a remarkable enhancement of the catalytic activity toward the hydrolytic degradation of P-F and P-S bonds of toxic nerve agents, at room temperature, in unbuffered aqueous solutions.

Selective Methane Oxidation to Methanol on Cu-Oxo Dimers Stabilized by Zirconia Nodes of an NU-1000 Metal-Organic Framework.

Mononuclear and dinuclear copper species were synthesized at the nodes of an NU-1000 metal-organic framework (MOF) via cation exchange and subsequent oxidation at 200 °C in oxygen. Copper-exchanged MOFs are active for selectively converting methane to methanol at 150-200 °C. At 150 °C and 1 bar methane, approximately a third of the copper centers are involved in converting methane to methanol. Methanol productivity increased by 3-4-fold and selectivity increased from 70% to 90% by increasing the methane pressure from 1 to 40 bar. Density functional theory showed that reaction pathways on various copper sites are able to convert methane to methanol, the copper oxyl sites with much lower free energies of activation. Combining studies of the stoichiometric activity with characterization by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory, we conclude that dehydrated dinuclear copper oxyl sites formed after activation at 200 °C are responsible for the activity.

Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations of Catalytic Energy Barriers in a Metallorganic Framework with Transition-Metal-Functionalized Nodes

We have investigated electronic energy barriers for ethylene hydrogenation and C–H bond activation in transition-metal-functionalized Zr-based nodes in the NU-1000 metal–organic framework using qua...

Methane Oxidation to Methanol Catalyzed by Cu-Oxo Clusters Stabilized in NU-1000 Metal-Organic Framework.

Copper oxide clusters synthesized via atomic layer deposition on the nodes of the metal-organic framework (MOF) NU-1000 are active for oxidation of methane to methanol under mild reaction conditions. Analysis of chemical reactivity, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations are used to determine structure/activity relations in the Cu-NU-1000 catalytic system. The Cu-loaded MOF contained Cu-oxo clusters of a few Cu atoms. The Cu was present under ambient conditions as a mixture of ∼15% Cu+ and ∼85% Cu2+. The oxidation of methane on Cu-NU-1000 was accompanied by the reduction of 9% of the Cu in the catalyst from Cu2+ to Cu+. The products, methanol, dimethyl ether, and CO2, were desorbed with the passage of 10% water/He at 135 °C, giving a carbon selectivity for methane to methanol of 45-60%. Cu oxo clusters stabilized in NU-1000 provide an active, first generation MOF-based, selective methane oxidation catalyst.