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

Víctor, Neyvis and Garin’s work has just been published in Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed. This joint effort shines some light into the underlying mechanism behind the chemiresistive phenomena displayed by electrically conductive MOFs. Taking advantage of our previously reported devices based on Cu-CAT-1 ultrathin films (~30 nm), we used experimental data in combination with computational modelling to obtain evidence for a guest dependent modification of the MOF’s electronic structure. This causes a direct dependence between the electrical response of the MOF and guest interactions with its open metal nodes. You can see the full text here

Javier Castells & Natalia M. Padial’s work has just been published as a Very Important Paper in Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed. The work describes a new family of heterometallic Titanium(IV)-based Metal Organic Frameworks, namely MUV-10, that can be produced in gram quantity and show remarkable stability in water. Moreover, the paper shows how the electronic structure of these materials can be tuned through the heterometallic centres by means of metal doping, which is further supported by theoretical calculations and by photocatalytic H2 production from water, in collaboration with Hermenegildo García’s group at ITQ. For more info see here

Javier Castell’s paper in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces demonstrates the formation of robust catechol coatings for enhanced moisture tolerance by one step reaction of HKUST crystals with synthetic catechols. In collaboration with D. Ruiz-Molinas’ grout @ICN2 we show that the use of fluorinated catechols results in hydrophobic, permeable coatings that protect HKUST from water degradation whilst retaining close to 100 % of its original sorption capacity. For more info see here

Víctor Rubio’s work has just been accepted in Advanced Materials. This paper reports on the convenience of a solution-based bottom-up method, which combines the use of the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, Layer-by-Layer and self-assembled monolayers to transfer high-quality ultrathin films of a semiconductive 2D MOF in a controlled fashion. This versatile methodology enabled us to fabricate MOF-based electronic devices and study the electrical conductivity on the thinnest MOF films (10 nm thick) reported so far. For more info see here

Víctor Rubio’s Chem. Mater. paper reports on the controllable doping of Ni-MOF-74 with Fe to produce a MOF material which combines porosity and ferrimagnetic ordering. This validates metal doping as a useful strategy to modify the magnetism of other archetypical families of MOFs. For more info see here

José Navarro’s work has just been published in JACS. In collaboration with the MINOLTA team at UVEG we report the first example of a MOF capable of separating chiral polar drugs. Cu- GlyHisGly is capable of separating more than 50% of the (+)-ephedrine enantiomer from a racemic mixture in only.

Victor Rubio’s JACS paper reports on the use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to enable the fabrication of highly oriented, ultrathin MOF films across millimetre-scale areas. Electrical conductivity was studied with Hg-drop electrometry. This strategy might be useful for the integration of MOFs as active interfaces in electronic devices.

In collaboration with E. Pardo’s group at ICMol, this work highlights the potential of flexible MOFs incorporating amino acids to enable efficient removal of mercury from solution. This porous solid displays an adaptable response reminiscent of that responsible for the biological activity of the enzyme mercuric reductase.