MULTIMOF · Multifunctional Metal-Organic Frameworks
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2010-09-01 → 2012-08-31
- EU contribution
- €173,241
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IEF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Multifunctional Metal-Organic Frameworks
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline materials built up from the interconnection of organic linkers and metal nodes. The judicious choice of these organic and inorganic synthons and the control exerted on their spatial arrangement enables fine-tuning of their intrinsic porosity and accessible surface area. This controllable structure-to-function relationship, together with their extraordinary structural and chemical versatility, have resulted in the evaluation of these porous coordination polymers in applications such as gas storage and separation, heterogeneous catalysis, or sensing amongst others. The development of open frameworks by introduction of biologically derived molecules as organic linkers is attracting particular attention nowadays. To date, the incorporation of amino acids or nucleobases has proven a valid route towards the design of bio-analogous MOFs. These hybrid biomaterials combine the intrinsic MOF characteristics with the metal-binding versatility, structural flexibility, homochirality, stereochemical selectivity or biological compatibility provided by the bio-backbone. In this context, the use of oligopeptides has recently led to unprecedented adaptable porosity of the host upon gas sorption in [Zn(GlyAla)2]. The flexibility of the peptide linker plays a key role in adapting the pore conformation as the multiple torsions available to polypeptide chains results in a wide distribution of combined torsional degrees of freedom, which permit the framework to adopt a wider energy landscape of thermally accessible conformations.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The project MultiMOF (Multifunctional Metal-Organic Frameworks) is a natural step beyond the work developed by the applicant during his PhD thesis in Molecular Magnetism. It intends to undertake an extensive scientific program on the design and physical characterization of a broad range of multifunctional Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). Mutifunctionality will arise from the combination of their intrinsic properties such as lightness, porosity, flexibility or biocompatibility with magnetism or chirality and the interplay between them. MOFs can be defined as nanoporous crystalline compounds consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to multidentate organic ligands to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. Resulting from the introduction of permanent porosity, these molecule-based materials have attracted important attention in the last decade because of their promising application in gas storage, separation, ion exchange, catalysis or drug delivery. Taking advantage of expertise of the University of Liverpool materials chemistry group in the synthesis and characterization of MOFs, we intend to introduce electronically active transition metal (TM) extended units and optically active organic linkers in these materials in order to combine magnetic or optical properties with those resulting from their open structure. This approach will result in the design of a whole set of magnetic MOFs including additional functionalities, which could be of remarkable importance for the future development of porous low-density magnetic materials, switchable magnets, chiral magnets, magnetic sensors or higher level multifunctional materials. In this way, the researcher will embark on a multidisciplinary work plan, learning new concepts in Coordination Chemistry and Crystal Engineering, essential for the design and isolation of these open frameworks, and Solid-State Physics, employed in the study and tuning of physical properties exhibited by these materials.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL · LIVERPOOLCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union