Metal-Organic Frameworks (2010)
Undergraduates: Anna Dunn, Liqing Ma, Min Zheng
Faculty Advisor: Wenbin Lin
Department: Chemistry
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline, hybrid solids with infinite network structures that are built from metallic ions with connecting organic bridging ligands. The combination of many different types of organic linkers and inorganic connecting points can result in very diverse, highly porous solids. Different types of functional groups can be incorporated into MOFs which allow for use in many applications, including catalysis and molecular separation.
The goals of this project have been to synthesize homochiral MOFs with incorporated functionality for particular ligand systems and to characterize the MOFs in relation to porosity and stability.
Many different organic ligands have been synthesized using a variety of methods. After a ligand has been created, 1H and 31P NMR are used in order to confirm that the desired product has been created and if further purification is needed. After purification, the ligand is used to grow the MOF crystals. Many variables must be taken into consideration when growing crystals, including different solvent combinations and concentrations and the effects of different metal salts, temperatures, and growth times. The resulting crystals are then classified by using thermogravimetric analysis, UV-VIS spectrometry, X-ray crystallography and 1H NMR spectrometry in order to find the solvent and water content, dye uptake ability, and other important information about the crystals.