Modular and predictable assembly of porous organic molecular crystals

DOI: 10.1038/nature10125

Authors: James T. A. Jones (University of Liverpool) , Tom Hasell (University of Liverpool) , Xiaofeng Wu (University of Liverpool) , John Bacsa (University of Liverpool) , Kim E. Jelfs (University of Liverpool) , Marc Schmidtmann (University of Liverpool) , Samantha Y. Chong (University of Liverpool) , Dave J. Adams (University of Liverpool) , Abbie Trewin (University of Liverpool) , Florian Schiffman (University College London) , Furio Cora (University College London) , Ben Slater (University College London) , Alexander Steiner (University of Liverpool) , Graeme M. Day (University of Cambridge) , Andrew I. Cooper (University of Liverpool)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nature , VOL 474 , PAGES 367 - 371

State: Published (Approved)
Published: June 2011
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 7036

Abstract: Nanoporous molecular frameworks are important in applications such as separation, storage and catalysis. Empirical rules exist for their assembly but it is still challenging to place and segregate functionality in three-dimensional porous solids in a predictable way. Indeed, recent studies of mixed crystalline frameworks suggest a preference for the statistical distribution of functionalities throughout the pores rather than, for example, the functional group localization found in the reactive sites of enzymes. This is a potential limitations for 'one-pot' chemical syntheses of porous frameworks from simple starting materials. An alternative strategy is to prepare porous solids from synthetically preorganized molecular pores. In principle, functional organic pore modules could be covalently prefabricated and then assembled to produce materials with specific properties. However, this vision of mix-and-match assembly is far from being realized, not least because of the challenge in reliably predicting three-dimensional structures for molecular crystals, which lack the strong directional bonding found in networks. Here we show that highly porous crystalline solids can be produced by mixing different organic cage modules that self-assemble by means of chiral recognition. The structures of the resulting materials can be predicted computationally, allowing in silico materials design strategies. The constituent pore modules are synthesized in high yields on gram scales in a one-step reaction. Assembly of the porous co-crystals is as simple as combining the modules in solution and removing the solvent. In some cases, the chiral recognition between modules can be exploited to produce porous organic nanoparticles. We show that the method is valid for four different cage modules and can in principle be generalized in a computationally predictable manner based on a lock-and-key assembly between modules.

Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials


Instruments: I19-Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction

Added On: 27/03/2012 14:35

Discipline Tags:

Chemistry Materials Science Metal-Organic Frameworks Metallurgy Organometallic Chemistry

Technical Tags:

Diffraction Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction (SXRD)