Interatomic interactions in M 2 (C 8 H 4 O 4 ) 2 C 6 H 12 N 2 (M = Zn, Cu, Co, Ni) metal-organic framework polymers: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, QTAIM and ELF study

Applications of metal organic frameworks in dispersive micro solid phase extraction (D-μ-SPE)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a fascinating family of crystalline porous materials made up of metal clusters and organic linkers. In comparison with other porous materials, MOFs have unique characteristics including high surface area, homogeneous open cavities, and permanent high porosity with variable shapes and sizes. For these reasons, MOFs have recently been explored as sorbents in sample preparation by solid-phase extraction (SPE). However, SPE requires large amounts of sorbents and suffers from limited contact surfaces with analytes, which compromises extraction recovery and efficiency. Dispersive SPE (D-SPE) overcomes these limitations by dispersing the sorbents into the sample, which in turn increases contact with the analytes. Miniaturization of the microextraction procedure, particularly the amount of sorbent reduces the amount consumed of the organic solvent and shorten the time required to attain the equilibrium state. This may explain the reported high efficiency and applicability of MOFs in dispersive micro SPE (D-µ-SPE). This method retains all the advantages of solid phase extraction while also being simpler, faster, cheaper, and, in some cases, more effective in comparison with D-SPE. Besides, D-µ-SPE requires smaller amounts of the sorbents which reduces the overall cost, and the amount of waste generated from the analytical process. In this review, we discuss the applications of MOFs in D-µ-SPE of various analytes including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, organic dyes from miscellaneous matrices including water samples, biological samples and food samples.

Semi-empirical and ab initio calculations for crystals under pressure at fixed temperatures: the case of guanidinium perchlorate

A simple semi-empirical approach is proposed to calculate structure and properties of crystals under pressure at fixed temperatures. The computed semi-empirical pressure dependencies for guanidinium perchlorate are in good agreement with available experimental data. Ab initio results within quasi-harmonic approximation for guanidinium perchlorate are also presented.

Understanding structural flexibility of the paddle-wheel Zn-SBU motif in MOFs: influence of pillar ligands

Structural parameters and energies of secondary building units (SBUs) in Zn2(C8H4O4)2·C6H12N2 have been examined with DFT and CCSD(T) methods. The SBU structure exhibits flexibility due to close energies of formation of its D4h, D4, and D2d forms. The potential energy surfaces (PESs) calculated for these systems testify that the presence of pillar ligands with negatively charged nitrogens (NCH or DABCO) can lead to almost barrier-free transitions between structural SBU forms. The mobility regions of the SBU motif have been determined.

Parity violating energy difference for mirror conformers of DABCO linker between two M2+ cations (M = Zn, Cd, and Hg)

We have studied the potential energy surface of [ M 2 D A B C O ] 4 + cations (M = Zn, Cd, and Hg), which are considered as a model for the DABCO linker in metal-organic frameworks, a new prospective class of materials. Relativistic four-component and two-component calculations of parity violating energy difference (PVED) for twisted isomers of [ M 2 D A B C O ] 4 + cations have been performed. The right-twisted conformers of [ M 2 D A B C O ] 4 + are more stable than the left-twisted ones. The increase in PVED with the nuclear charge of the transition metal atom M (Z _M ) is discussed.