Confinement effect on the hydrated electron behaviour

Role of Counterions in the Structural Stabilisation of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks

The crystal structures of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are typically determined by the strong chemical bonds formed between the organic and inorganic building units. However, the latest generation of redox-active frameworks often rely on counterions in the pores to access specific charge states of the components. Here, we model the crystal structures of three layered MOFs based on the redox-active ligand 2,5-dihydroxybenzoquinone (dhbq): Ti2 (Cl2 dhbq)3 , V2 (Cl2 dhbq)3 and Fe2 (Cl2 dhbq)3 with implicit and explicit counterions. Our full-potential first-principles calculations indicate that while the reported hexagonal structure is readily obtained for Ti and V, the Fe framework is stabilised only by the presence of explicit counterions. For high counterion concentrations, we observe the formation of an electride-like pocket in the pore center. An outlook is provided on the implications of solvent and counterion control for engineering the structures and properties of porous solids.

Water radiolysis in exchanged-montmorillonites: the H2 production mechanisms

The radiolysis of water confined in montmorillonites is studied as a function of the composition of the montmorillonite, the nature of the exchangeable cation, and the relative humidity by following the H2 production under electron irradiation. It is shown that the main factor influencing this H2 production is the water amount in the interlayer space. The effect of the exchangeable cation is linked to its hydration enthalpy. When the water amount is high enough to get a basal distance higher than 1.3 nm, then a total energy transfer from the montmorillonite sheets to the interlayer space occurs, and the H2 production measured is very similar to the one obtained in bulk water. For a basal distance smaller than 1.3 nm, the H2 production increases with the relative humidity and thus with the water amount. Lastly, electron paramagnetic resonance measurements evidence the formation of a new defect induced by ionizing radiation. It consists of a hydrogen radical (H2 precursor) trapped in the structure. This implies that structural hydroxyl bonds can be broken under irradiation, potentially accounting for the observed H2 production.

Molecular simulation of water confined in nanoporous silica

This paper reports on a molecular simulation study of the thermodynamics, structure and dynamics of water confined at ambient temperature in hydroxylated silica nanopores of a width H = 10 and 20 Å. The adsorption isotherms for water in these nanopores resemble those observed for experimental samples; the adsorbed amount increases continuously in the multilayer adsorption regime until a jump occurs due to capillary condensation of the fluid within the pore. Strong layering of water in the vicinity of the silica surfaces is observed as marked density oscillations are observed up to 8 Å from the surface in the density profiles for confined water. Our results indicate that water molecules within the first adsorbed layer tend to adopt a H-down orientation with respect to the silica substrate. For all pore sizes and adsorbed amounts, the self-diffusivity of confined water is lower than the bulk, due to the hydrophilic interaction between the water molecules and the hydroxylated silica surface. Our results also suggest that the self-diffusivity of confined water is sensitive to the adsorbed amount.