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The layered perovskite Ca3-xSrxMn2O7 shown to exhibit a switching from a material exhibiting uniaxial negative to positive thermal expansion as a function of x. The switching is shown to be related to two closely competing phases with different symmetries. The negative thermal expansion (NTE) effect is maximized when the solid solution is tuned closest to this region of phase space but is switched off suddenly on passing though the transition. Our results show for the first time that, by understanding the symmetry of the competing phases alone, one may achieve unprecedented chemical control of this unusual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The o-palladated, chloro-bridged dimers [Pd{2-phenylpyridine(-H)}-µ-Cl]2 and [Pd{N,N-dimethylbenzylamine(-H)}-µ-Cl]2 react with cyanuric acid in the presence of base to afford closed, chiral cage-molecules in which 12 organo-Pd(II) centers, located in pairs at the vertices of an octahedron, are linked by four tetrahedrally arranged cyanurato(3-) ligands. Incomplete (Pd10) cages, having structures derived from the corresponding Pd12 cages by replacing one pair of organopalladium centers with two protons, have also been isolated. Reaction of [Pd{2-phenylpyridine(-H)}-µ-Cl]2 with trithiocyanuric acid gives an entirely different and more open type of cage-complex, comprising only nine organopalladium centers and three thiocyanurato(3-) ligands: cage-closure in this latter system appears to be inhibited by steric crowding of the thiocarbonyl groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray characterization techniques are invaluable for probing material characteristics and properties, and have been instrumental in discoveries across materials research. However, there is a current lack of understanding of how X-ray-induced effects manifest in small molecular crystals. This is of particular concern as new X-ray sources with ever-increasing brilliance are developed. In this paper, systematic studies of X-ray-matter interactions are reported on two industrially important catalysts, [Ir(COD)Cl] 2 and [Rh(COD)Cl] 2 , exposed to radiation in X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. From these complementary techniques, changes to structure, chemical environments, and electronic structure are observed as a function of X-ray exposure, allowing comparisons of stability to be made between the two catalysts. Radiation dose is estimated using recent developments to the RADDOSE-3D software for small molecules and applied to powder XRD and XPS experiments. Further insights into the electronic structure of the catalysts and changes occurring as a result of the irradiation are drawn from density functional theory (DFT). The techniques combined here offer much needed insight into the X-ray-induced effects in transition-metal catalysts and, consequently, their intrinsic stabilities. There is enormous potential to extend the application of these methods to other small molecular systems of scientific or industrial relevance.

Mechanochemical synthesis has recently emerged as a scalable "green" approach for the preparation of MOFs, but current understanding of the underlying reaction mechanisms is limited. In this work, an investigation of the reaction pathway of the mechanochemical synthesis of MOF-74 from ZnO and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (H 4 HDTA), using DMF as a liquid additive, is presented. The complex reaction pathway involves the formation of four short-lived intermediate phases, prior to the crystallization of MOF-74. The crystal structures of three of these intermediates have been determined using a combination of single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction methods and are described here. The initial stages of the reaction are very fast, with a DMF solvate of H 4 HDTA forming after only 2 min of milling. This is followed by crystallization, after only 4 min of milling, of a triclinic one-dimensional coordination polymer, Zn(H 2 DHTA)(DMF) 2 (H 2 O) 2 , which converts into a monoclinic polymorph on additional milling. Highly crystalline MOF-74 appears after prolonged milling, for at least 70 min., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

The polar corundum structure type offers a route to new room temperature multiferroic materials, as the partial LiNbO 3 -type cation ordering that breaks inversion symmetry may be combined with long-range magnetic ordering of high spin d 5 cations above room temperature in the AFeO 3 system. We report the synthesis of a polar corundum GaFeO 3 by a high-pressure, high-temperature route and demonstrate that its polarity arises from partial LiNbO 3 -type cation ordering by complementary use of neutron, X-ray, and electron diffraction methods. In situ neutron diffraction shows that the polar corundum forms directly from AlFeO 3 -type GaFeO 3 under the synthesis conditions. The A 3+ /Fe 3+ cations are shown to be more ordered in polar corundum GaFeO 3 than in isostructural ScFeO 3 . This is explained by DFT calculations which indicate that the extent of ordering is dependent on the configurational entropy available to each system at the very different synthesis temperatures required to form their corundum structures. Polar corundum GaFeO 3 exhibits weak ferromagnetism at room temperature that arises from its Fe 2 O 3 -like magnetic ordering, which persists to a temperature of 408 K. We demonstrate that the polarity and magnetization are coupled in this system with a measured linear magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of 0.057 ps/m. Such coupling is a prerequisite for potential applications of polar corundum materials in multiferroic/magnetoelectric devices.

The key requirement for a portable store of natural gas is to maximize the amount of gas within the smallest possible space. The packing of methane (CH4) in a given storage medium at the highest possible density is, therefore, a highly desirable but challenging target. We report a microporous hydroxyl-decorated material, MFM-300(In) (MFM = Manchester Framework Material, replacing the NOTT designation), which displays a high volumetric uptake of 202 v/v at 298 K and 35 bar for CH4 and 488 v/v at 77 K and 20 bar for H2. Direct observation and quantification of the location, binding, and rotational modes of adsorbed CH4 and H2 molecules within this host have been achieved, using neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering experiments, coupled with density functional theory (DFT) modeling. These complementary techniques reveal a very efficient packing of H2 and CH4 molecules within MFM-300(In), reminiscent of the condensed gas in pure component crystalline solids. We also report here, for the first time, the experimental observation of a direct binding interaction between adsorbed CH4 molecules and the hydroxyl groups within the pore of a material. This is different from the arrangement found in CH4/water clathrates, the CH4 store of nature.

Understanding the molecular mechanism of proton conduction is crucial for the design of new materials with improved conductivity. Quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) has been used to probe the mechanism of proton diffusion within a new phosphonate-based metal-organic framework (MOF) material, MFM-500(Ni). QENS suggests that the proton conductivity (4.5 × 10(-4) S/cm at 98% relative humidity and 25 °C) of MFM-500(Ni) is mediated by intrinsic "free diffusion inside a sphere", representing the first example of such a mechanism observed in MOFs.

The o-palladated, chloro-bridged dimers [Pd{2-phenylpyridine(-H)}-μ-Cl]2 and [Pd{N,N-dimethylbenzylamine(-H)}-μ-Cl]2 react with cyanuric acid in the presence of base to afford closed, chiral cage-molecules in which 12 organo-Pd(II) centers, located in pairs at the vertices of an octahedron, are linked by four tetrahedrally arranged cyanurato(3-) ligands. Incomplete (Pd10) cages, having structures derived from the corresponding Pd12 cages by replacing one pair of organopalladium centers with two protons, have also been isolated. Reaction of [Pd{2-phenylpyridine(-H)}-μ-Cl]2 with trithiocyanuric acid gives an entirely different and more open type of cage-complex, comprising only nine organopalladium centers and three thiocyanurato(3-) ligands: cage-closure in this latter system appears to be inhibited by steric crowding of the thiocarbonyl groups.

The different triplet sequences in high molecular weight aromatic copolyimides comprising pyromellitimide units ("I") flanked by either ether-ketone ("K") or ether-sulfone residues ("S") show different binding strengths for pyrene-based tweezer-molecules. Such molecules bind primarily to the diimide unit through complementary π-π-stacking and hydrogen bonding. However, as shown by the magnitudes of (1)H NMR complexation shifts and tweezer-polymer binding constants, the triplet "SIS" binds tweezer-molecules more strongly than "KIS" which in turn binds such molecules more strongly than "KIK". Computational models for tweezer-polymer binding, together with single-crystal X-ray analyses of tweezer-complexes with macrocyclic ether-imides, reveal that the variations in binding strength between the different triplet sequences arise from the different conformational preferences of aromatic rings at diarylketone and diarylsulfone linkages. These preferences determine whether or not chain-folding and secondary π-π-stacking occurs between the arms of the tweezer-molecule and the 4,4'-biphenylene units which flank the central diimide residue., (© 2011 American Chemical Society)