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In this work, two ZIF-8-based biocomposites were obtained by entrapping the biomolecules benzaldehyde and methyl anthranilate via direct impregnation with fast encapsulation kinetics and high molecule payloads were achieved. The obtained biocomposites exhibit an enhanced antifungal activity against Penicilium expansum after integration in biopolymeric zein films in comparison with the action of free molecules, making these biomaterials promising candidates for food preservation and packaging applications.

The design of efficient food contact materials that maintain optimal levels of food safety is of paramount relevance to reduce the increasing number of foodborne illnesses. In this work, we develop a smart composite metal-organic framework (MOF)-based material that fosters a unique prolonged antibacterial activity. The composite is obtained by entrapping a natural food preserving molecule, carvacrol, into a mesoporous MIL-100(Fe) material following a direct and biocompatible impregnation method, and obtaining particularly high payloads. By exploiting the intrinsic redox nature of the MIL-100(Fe) material, it is possible to achieve a prolonged activity against Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua due to a triggered two-step carvacrol release from films containing the carvacrol@MOF composite. Essentially, it was discovered that based on the underlying chemical interaction between MIL-100(Fe) and carvacrol, it is possible to undergo a reversible charge-transfer process between the metallic MOF counterpart and carvacrol upon certain chemical stimuli. During this process, the preferred carvacrol binding site was monitored by infrared, Mössbauer, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies, and the results are supported by theoretical calculations.

Here we report the first example of nanoMIL-100 particles modified with monomeric cyclodextrin derivatives of different length by exploiting strong interactions between non-saturated iron trimers at the external surface and carboxylate functionalities located at the end of biocompatible and flexible linkers of cyclodextrins. The main results revealed that, after the functionalization, the cyclodextrins are selectively located at the external surfaces covering the nanoparticles. Z potential measurements show that this functionalization induced changes respect to the bare nanoMIL-100 particles, however, the presence of the cyclodextrins does not modify the size neither porosity of the nanoparticles. The amount of cyclodextrins attached, investigated by thermogravimetry, increases with the length of the linker between CD cavity and nanoparticle surface, reaching up a 9 % wt. Auger spectroscopy suggested a clear predominant sp character after the functionalizations (vs. sp predominance in the unmodified nanoMIL-100). This study supposes the creation of an alternative family of hybrids based on carboxylated monomeric cyclodextrins.

[EN] This work highlights the benefit of designing mixed-metal (Cr/Fe) MOFs for enhanced chemical stability and catalytic activity. A robust and stable mixed-metal MIL-101(Cr/Fe) was prepared through a HF-free direct hydrothermal route with Fe(3+)content up to 21 wt%. The incorporation of Fe(3+)cations in the crystal structure was confirmed by(57)Fe Mossbauer spectrometry. The catalytic performance of the mixed metal MIL-101(Cr/Fe) was evaluated in the Prins reaction. MIL-101(Cr/Fe) exhibited a higher catalytic activity compared to MIL-101(Cr), improved chemical stability compared to MIL-101(Fe) and a higher catalytic activity for bulky substrates compared to MIL-100(Fe).In situinfra-red spectroscopy study suggests that the incorporation of Fe(3+)ions in MIL-101 structure leads to an increase in Lewis acid sites. It was thus concluded that the predominant role of Cr(3+)ions was to maintain the crystal structure, while Fe(3+)ions enhanced the catalytic activity.

This work highlights the benefit of designing mixed-metal (Cr/Fe) MOFs for enhanced chemical stability and catalytic activity. A robust and stable mixed-metal MIL-101(Cr/Fe) was prepared through a HF-free direct hydrothermal route with Fe3+ content up to 21 wt%. The incorporation of Fe3+ cations in the crystal structure was confirmed by 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. The catalytic performance of the mixed metal MIL-101(Cr/Fe) was evaluated in the Prins reaction. MIL-101(Cr/Fe) exhibited a higher catalytic activity compared to MIL-101(Cr), improved chemical stability compared to MIL-101(Fe) and a higher catalytic activity for bulky substrates compared to MIL-100(Fe). In situ infra-red spectroscopy study suggests that the incorporation of Fe3+ ions in MIL-101 structure leads to an increase in Lewis acid sites. It was thus concluded that the predominant role of Cr3+ ions was to maintain the crystal structure, while Fe3+ ions enhanced the catalytic activity.

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-driven synthesis is considered as a promising alternative for the development of new catalytic materials with well-designed active sites. This synthetic approach is used here to gradually transform a new bimetallic MOF, with Pd and Fe as the metal components, by the in situ generation of aniline under mild conditions. This methodology results in a compositionally homogeneous nanocomposite formed by Fe-doped Pd nanoparticles that, in turn, are supported on iron oxide-doped carbon. The nanocomposite has been fully characterized by several techniques such as IR and Raman spectroscopy, TEM, XPS, and XAS. The performance of this nanocomposite as an heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation of nitroarenes and nitrobenzene coupling with benzaldehyde has been evaluated, proving it to be an efficient and reusable catalyst.

[EN] A series of mixed-metal Fe-III/Ni-II metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of the MIL-100 type containing different metal ratios have been synthesized de novo, following an approach that requires tuning of the Fe-III/Ni-II reactivity. The resulting heterometallic MIL-100(Fe, Ni) materials maintain thermal, chemical and structural stability with respect to the parent MIL-100(Fe) MOF as can be deduced from various techniques. The nature and the oxidation state of the accessible metal cations have been evaluated by in situ infrared spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements. The obtained mixed-metal MOFs and the parent material have been evaluated as heterogeneous catalysts in a model acid-catalyzed reaction, i.e., the Prins reaction. It is found that the catalytic activity improves by more than one order of magnitude upon incorporation of Ni-II, with a complete selectivity for the formation of nopol. This increase in the catalytic activity upon incorporation of Ni-II correlates with the enhancement in the Lewis acidity of the material as determined by CO adsorption. The heterometallic MOF can be recycled without observation of metal leaching, while maintaining the crystal structure under the reaction conditions.

Herein we report the synthesis of an elusive metal-organic framework, the iron(II) analogue of ZIF-8 with the formula Fe(2-methylimidazolate) , here denoted as MUV-3. The preparation of this highly interesting porous material, inaccessible by common synthetic procedures, occurs in a solvent-free reaction upon addition of an easily detachable template molecule, yielding single crystals of MUV-3. This methodology can be extended to other metals and imidazolate derivatives, allowing the preparation of ZIF-8, ZIF-67, and the unprecedented iron(II) ZIFs Fe(2-ethylimidazolate) and Fe(2-methylbenzimidazolate) . The different performance of MUV-3 toward NO sorption, in comparison to ZIF-8, results from the chemisorption of NO molecules, which also causes a gate-opening behavior. Finally, the controlled pyrolysis of MUV-3 results in a N-doped graphitic nanocomposite that exhibits extraordinary performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with low overpotential at different current densities (316 mV at 10 mA cm ), low Tafel slope (37 mV per decade), high maximum current density (710 mA cm at 2.0 V vs RHE), and great durability (15 h). ©

A series of mixed-metal Fe/Ni metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of the MIL-100 type containing different metal ratios have been synthesized de novo, following an approach that requires tuning of the Fe/Ni reactivity. The resulting heterometallic MIL-100(Fe, Ni) materials maintain thermal, chemical and structural stability with respect to the parent MIL-100(Fe) MOF as can be deduced from various techniques. The nature and the oxidation state of the accessible metal cations have been evaluated by in situ infrared spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements. The obtained mixed-metal MOFs and the parent material have been evaluated as heterogeneous catalysts in a model acid-catalyzed reaction, i.e., the Prins reaction. It is found that the catalytic activity improves by more than one order of magnitude upon incorporation of Ni, with a complete selectivity for the formation of nopol. This increase in the catalytic activity upon incorporation of Ni correlates with the enhancement in the Lewis acidity of the material as determined by CO adsorption. The heterometallic MOF can be recycled without observation of metal leaching, while maintaining the crystal structure under the reaction conditions.

In the past years, the use of highly sensitive silicon microelectromechanical cantilevers has been proposed as a tool to characterize the spin-crossover phenomenon by employing fast optical readout of the motion. In this work, Fe II -based spin-crossover nanoparticles of the well-known [Fe(Htrz) 2 (trz)](BF 4 ) complex wrapped with thin silica shells of different sizes will be studied by means of silicon microresonators. The silica shell will enhance its chemical stability, whereas the low thickness will allow a proper mechanical coupling between the cantilever and the spin-crossover core. To maximize the sensing of the spin-crossover phenomena, different cantilever geometries and flexural modes were employed. In addition, the experimental observations were also compared with COMSOL numerical simulations, which are in close agreement with them. The probe of spin-crossover phenomena with micro- and nanoelectromechanical actuators offers the possibility of preparing smart sensing memory devices near/above room temperature., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., QN/van der Zant Lab, QN/Afdelingsbureau, QN/Caviglia Lab

We use the electrodeless time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) technique to characterize spin-crossover (SCO) nanoparticles. We show that TRMC is a simple and accurate means for simultaneously assessing the magnetic state of SCO compounds and charge transport information on the nanometer length scale. In the low-spin state from liquid nitrogen temperature up to 360 K the TRMC measurements present two well-defined regimes in the mobility and in the half-life times, in which the former transition temperature TR occurs near 225 K. Below TR, we propose that an activationless regime taking place associated with short lifetimes of the charge carriers points at the presence of shallow-trap states. Above TR, these states are thermally released, yielding a thermally activated hopping regime where longer hops increase the mobility and, concomitantly, the barrier energy. The activation energy could originate not only from intricate contributions such as polaronic self-localizations but also from dynamic disorder due to phonons and/or thermal fluctuations of SCO moieties., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., QN/van der Zant Lab, BN/Technici en Analisten

[EN] Discrimination between different gases is an essential aspect for industrial and environmental applications involving sensing and separation. Several classes of porous materials have been used in this context, including zeolites and more recently MOFs. However, to reach high selectivities for the separation of gas mixtures is a challenging task that often requires the understanding of the specific interactions established between the porous framework and the gases. Here we propose an approach to obtain an enhanced selectivity based on the use of compartmentalized coordination polymers, named CCP-1 and CCP-2, which are crystalline materials comprising isolated discrete cavities. These compartmentalized materials are excellent candidates for the selective separation of CO2 from methane and nitrogen. A complete understanding of the sorption process is accomplished with the use of complementary experimental techniques including X-ray diffraction, adsorption studies, inelastic- and quasi-elastic neutron scattering, magnetic measurements and molecular dynamics calculations.

Discrimination between different gases is an essential aspect for industrial and environmental applications involving sensing and separation. Several classes of porous materials have been used in this context, including zeolites and more recently MOFs. However, to reach high selectivities for the separation of gas mixtures is a challenging task that often requires the understanding of the specific interactions established between the porous framework and the gases. Here we propose an approach to obtain an enhanced selectivity based on the use of compartmentalized coordination polymers, named CCP-1 and CCP-2, which are crystalline materials comprising isolated discrete cavities. These compartmentalized materials are excellent candidates for the selective separation of CO2 from methane and nitrogen. A complete understanding of the sorption process is accomplished with the use of complementary experimental techniques including X-ray diffraction, adsorption studies, inelastic- and quasi-elastic neutron scattering, magnetic measurements and molecular dynamics calculations.

[EN] Here we present two FeII coordination polymers that possess discrete compartments suitable for CO2 physisorption despite the lack of permanent channels. The two crystalline materials, of general formula [Fe(btzbp)3](X)2 (X = ClO4 or BF4), present voids of ca. 250 Å3, which each can accommodate up to two CO2 molecules. The abrupt spin transition can be modified upon CO2 sorption, and different magnetic behaviour is observed depending on the number of molecules sorbed.