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pyr

15 May: DIRECT VISUALIZATION OF PYRROLE REACTIVITY BY CONFINED OXIDATION IN A CYCLODEXTRIN METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORK

Alejandro’s work has just been published in Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed. In this paper, Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction is used to follow the restricted polymerization of pyrrole inside a cyclodextrin MOF, which generates discrete units of highly reactive cationic terpyrrole inside the pores. This work gives unprecedented information about the host-guest interactions that limit the formation of polymers, that can be useful to future works using MOFs as templates for polymerization processes. For more info see here

meso

15 May: DE NOVO SYNTHESIS OF MESOPOROUS PHOTOACTIVE TITANIUM(IV)-ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS WITH MIL-100 TOPOLOGY

Javi reports the synthesis of the first mesoporous titanium-organic framework, now available in Chemical Science. The use of High-Throughput (HT) methodologies enabled the synthesis of highly crystalline MIL-100(Ti). Compared to the classical Fe phase, this MOF shows improved chemical stability and retains the photoactivity intrinsic to Ti(IV) centers. Photocatalytic H2 production was demonstrated in collaboration with Hermenegildo García’s group at the Instituto of Tecnología Química. For more details check the link

enzy

15 May: TRANSLOCATION OF ENZYMES INSIDE MOFS FOR ENHANCED ACTIVITY UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS

On a recently published joint work, Jose, Neyvis and Belén used a novel method to induce the translocation of an enzyme into the pores of a MOF. Their procedure is based in a partial denaturation of the enzyme followed by its refolding into the polar cavities offered by the host. Thanks to a combination of experimental and theoretical work, we managed to demonstrate that the enzyme adopts a different conformation inside the MOF, granting it enhanced activity, stability and recyclability. The work is now available in Chemical Science

spincro

15 May: EFFECT OF NANOSTRUCTURATION ON THE SPIN CROSSOVER TRANSITION IN CRYSTALLINE ULTRATHIN FILMS

Víctor’s study on the nanostructuration of spin crossover coordination polymers has just been published in Chemical Science. A collaborative endeavor with contributions from FuniMat, RTMM and SMolMat groups of the ICMol, together with Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales and DEIMOS beamline of the Soleil synchrotron. Below a critical thickness, the completeness of the spin transition is sharply affected due to an equally dramatic film microstructure transition from fully coalesced layer into segregated nanocrystalline particles. This careful examination of the spin crossover properties of films at the nanoscale provides relevant information for scientists working towards the integration of this switchable materials into nanometric electronic and spintronic devices. For more details take a look at the full text here