Eosin Y Post-Decorated Metal-Organic Framework as a Selectivity Regulator for the Alcohols Oxidation

The selective oxidation of alcohols into aldehydes is a basic and significant procedure, with great potential for scientific research and industrial applications. However, as an important factor in the C(sp3)-H activation process, high selectivity is generally difficult to achieve due to the fact that the more easily activated properties of aldehydes are compared to alcohols. Herein, by the ingenious decoration of eosin Y into a Zr-based metal-organic framework (MOF-808), EY@MOF-808 was prepared as a selectivity regulator for the aerobic oxidation of the benzyl alcohols into corresponding aldehydes, possessing applicability for the benzylic alcohols with various substituents. By anchoring eosin Y on Zr6O4(OH)4 clusters of MOF-808 and maintaining open metal nodes with selective binding effects, the benzyl alcohol substrates were selectively coordinated to the unsaturated metal clusters adjacent to eosin Y, which ensured that the excited eosin Y rapidly activated substrates to generate carbon radicals by the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process. The rapid electron transfer (ET) simultaneously produced reactive oxygen species (O2•-) and then a combination of both to further promote the generation of benzaldehydes. The weak interaction of benzaldehydes with the skeleton allowed it to dissociate rapidly, thus preventing overoxidation. Under the catalysis of EY@MOF-808, the selectivity of various benzaldehydes was more than 99%. In contrast, eosin Y gave only benzoic acid products under the same conditions, which demonstrated the superiority of regulatory selectivity of EY@MOF-808. Taking advantage of the heterogeneity of the MOF, EY@MOF-808 was recycled four times without a decrease in its selectivity and avoided the quenching effect of eosin Y. The organic functional units postdecorated MOF-based photocatalyst strategy exhibits a promising new perspective approach to sustainably regulating the selectivity of inert oxidation.

Ultrathin 2D Cerium-Based Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheet That Boosts Selective Oxidation of Inert C(sp3 )H Bond through Multiphoton Excitation

The development of methodologies for inducing and tailoring activities of catalysts is an important issue in various catalysis. The ultrathin 2D monolayer metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets with more accessible active sites and faster diffusion obtained by exfoliating 3D layered MOFs are of great potential as heterogeneous catalysts, but the rational design and preparation of 3D layered MOFs remains a grand challenge. Herein, a novel weak electrostatic interaction strategy to construct a 3D layered cerium-bearing MOF by coordinating chlorine-capped cerium nodes and linear photoactive methyl viologen (MV⁺ ) organic linkers is used. Under multiphoton excitation, the MV⁺ ligands and CeCl chromophores are triggered consecutively to form the high activity chlorine radical (Cl^• ) for activation of inert C(sp³ )H bond through a hydrogen atom transfer. Benefiting from framework confinement effects, synergistic effects of two active sites and/or flexibility of the ultrathin framework nanosheets with high surface utilization, the observed activities increase in the order CeCl₃ /MV⁺  < bulk 3D MOF crystals < 2D MOF nanosheets in photocatalysis. This work not only contributes a new strategy to construct 3D layered MOFs and their ultrathin nanosheets but also paves the way to use nanostructured MOFs to handle synergy of multiple molecular catalysts.

Anthraquinone-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Bifunctional Photocatalyst for C-H Activation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained attention as multifunctional catalytic platforms, allowing us to gain important insights into synergistically activating both C-H bonds and oxygen for improving oxidation. Herein, by ingenious incorporation of anthraquinone, we report an anthraquinone-based MOF as a bifunctional heterogeneous photocatalytic platform to simultaneously activate inert C(sp³)-H bonds and oxygen for C-H bond oxidation. Making use of the rigid framework with the fixation and isolation effect, both a great chemical stability and bifunctional synergistic photocatalytic effects were obtained through the immobilization of anthraquinone into a MOF. Importantly, while decorating two carboxyl groups on anthraquinone, the carbonyl groups of anthraquinone photosensitizers were not involved in coordinating the self-assembly and orderly arranged on the wall of channels that were constructed through a π-π interaction between the anthraquinone moieties in the adjacent layers, which was beneficial to form and stabilize the excited-state radical intermediates in the molecule-fenced channels, and the close proximity between the catalytic sites and the substrates to abstract a hydrogen atom from the substrate through the hydrogen atom transfer process aimed at activating the inertness of C-H bonds. Moreover, high-density-distributed anthraquinone dyes in the confined channels would activate oxygen to form singlet oxygen (¹O₂) through an energy transfer pathway, further promoting inert C(sp³)-H bond oxidation efficiency. Under visible light irradiation, this anthraquinone-based MOF was successfully applied to explore activation and oxidation of a series of substrates containing benzylic C(sp³)-H bonds in the presence of air or oxygen to produce the corresponding carbonyl products. This bifunctional photocatalytic platform based on a heterogeneous MOF provides an available catalytic avenue to develop a scalable and sustainable synthetic strategy using green and sustainable oxygen as the potent oxidant.

Eosin Y-Containing Metal-Organic Framework as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for Direct Photoactivation of Inert C-H Bonds

Xanthene dyes as a class of ideal organic homogeneous photocatalyst have received significant attention in C-H bond activation; however, the inherent nature of fast carrier recombination/deactivation and low stability limits their practical applications. Herein, by the ingenious decoration of eosin Y into a porous metal-organic framework (MOF), a high-performance heterogeneous MOF-based photocatalyst was prepared to efficiently activate inert C-H bonds on the reactants via the hydrogen atom transfer pathway for the functionalization of the C-H bonds. Taking advantage of the fixation effect of a rigid framework, the incorporation of eosin Y into MOF leads to great enhancement of their chemical durability. More importantly, by the introduction of the second auxiliary ligand, the carbonyl groups of xanthene on the eosin Y dyes were perfectly retained and periodically aligned within the confined channels of this rigid framework, which could effectively form excited state radicals to prompt inert C-H bond activation, promoting reaction efficiency by the host-guest supramolecular interaction. New eosin Y-based MOFs were recyclable for six times without reducing photocatalytic activity. This eosin Y functionalized MOF-based heterogeneous photocatalytic system provides an availably catalytic avenue to develop a scalable and sustainable synthetic strategy for the practical application of organic dyes.

Novel Binary Ni-Based Mixed Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets Materials and Their High Optical Power Limiting

With the rapid advance of laser technology in the photonicera, damage to precision optical instruments caused by exposure to sudden intense laser pulses has stimulated the search for effective optical power limiting materials exhibiting good dispersion, fast response speed, and good visible light transparency. In this study, novel binary Ni-based mixed MOF NSs (M = Mn, Zn, Co, Cd, Fe) were obtained, making the electronic transition more selective and changing the band gap to obtain an excellent reverse saturation absorption signal. The theoretical calculation results show that with the doping of the Fe element, the band gap of Ni-MOF NSs decreases from 3.12 to 0.66 eV of Ni-Fe-MOF NSs, indicating that the doping of the Fe element has a positive effect on the reverse saturated absorption. The experimental results prove that the optical limiting threshold of Ni-Fe-MOF NSs is better than the GNSs, indicating that the Ni-Fe-MOF NSs have a broad application prospect in the field of nonlinear optics and photonics.

A Metal-Organic Framework as a Multiphoton Excitation Regulator for the Activation of Inert C(sp3 )-H Bonds and Oxygen

The activation and oxidization of inert C(sp³ )-H bonds into value-added chemicals affords attractively economic and ecological benefits as well as central challenge in modern chemistry. Inspired by the natural enzymatic transformation, herein, we report a new multiphoton excitation approach to activate the inert C(sp³ )-H bonds and oxygen by integrating the photoinduced electron transfer (PET), ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) events together into one metal-organic framework. The well-modified nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺ ) mimics oxidized Ce^III -OEt moieties to generate Ce^IV -OEt chromophore and its reduced state mimics NAD^. via PET. The in situ formed Ce^IV -OEt moiety triggers a LMCT excitation to form the alkoxy radical EtO^. , abstracts a hydrogen atom from the C(sp³ )-H bond, accompanying the recovery of Ce^III -OEt and the formation of alkyl radicals. The formed NAD^. activates oxygen to regenerate the NAD⁺ for next recycle, wherein, the activated oxygen species interacts with the intermediates for the oxidization functionalization, paving a catalytic avenue for developing scalable and sustainable synthetic strategy.

Structure modulation on fluorescent probes for biothiols and the reversible imaging of glutathione in living cells

The detection of small molecular biothiols (cysteine, homocysteine and glutathione) is of great importance, as they involve in a series of physiological and pathological processes and are associated with many diseases. To realize the real-time monitoring of a specific biothiol, a rapid and reversible probe is required. Therefore, three probes, namely, o-MNPy, m-MNPy and p-MNPy, with pyridine substituted α, β-unsaturated ketone as the recognition site, were reported here, and the reactivity of the recognition site was finely tuned by the connection mode of the pyridine unit. To single out the optimal one, the response performances of three probes toward each biothiol were systemically studied, taking the differences of the intracellular contents of three biothiols into account during the evaluation. Biothiols reacted with the probes through Michael addition, and results showed that the slight structural variations could affect the performances of the probes obviously. p-MNPy with the pyridine unit connected to the recognition site through the para-position of the nitrogen atom, revealed the best sensing ability among the three probes. It demonstrated rapid response, good selectivity and sensitivity, excellent pH adaptability to Cys and GSH, and displayed reversible detection toward GSH. Finally, p-MNPy was successfully applied to track the GSH fluctuations under the oxidative stress stimulated by H₂O₂ in living cells.

A reversible fluorescent probe for GSH was obtained through structure modulation, by which the intracellular GSH fluctuation was imaged.

Crystalline C-C and C═C Bond-Linked Chiral Covalent Organic Frameworks

While crystalline covalent organic frameworks (COFs) linked by C-C bonds are highly desired in synthetic chemistry, it remains a formidable challenge to synthesize. Efforts to generate C-C single bonds in COFs via de novo synthesis usually afford amorphous structures rather than crystalline phases. We demonstrate here that C-C single bond-based COFs can be prepared by direct reduction of C═C bond-linked frameworks via crystal-to-crystal transformation. By Knoevenagel polycondensation of chiral tetrabenzaldehyde of dibinaphthyl-22-crown-6 with 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile or 4,4'-biphenyldiacetonitrile, two olefin-linked chiral COFs with 2D layered tetragonal structure are prepared. Reduction of olefin linkages of the as-prepared CCOFs produces two C-C single bond linked frameworks, which retains high crystallinity and porosity as well as high chemical stability in both strong acids and bases. The quantitative reduction is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and cross-polarization magic angle spinning ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Compared to the pristine structures, the reduced CCOFs display blue-shifted emission with enhanced quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes, while the parent CCOFs exhibit higher enantioselectivity than the reduced analogs when be used as fluorescent sensors to detect chiral amino alcohols via supramolecular interactions with the built-in crown ether moieties. This work provides an attractive strategy for making chemically stable functionalized COFs with new linkages that are otherwise hard to produce.

Linear and nonlinear optical probing of various excitons in 2D inorganic-organic hybrid structures

Nonlinear optical properties, such as two-(or multi-) photon absorption (2PA), are of special interest for technologically important applications in fast optical switching, in vivo imaging and so on. Highly intense infrared ultrashort pulses probe deep into samples and reveal several underlying structural perturbations (inter-layer distortions, intra-layer crumpling) and also provide information about new excited states and their relaxation. Naturally self-assembled inorganic-organic multiple quantum wells (IO-MQWs) show utility from room-temperature exciton emission features (binding energies ~200–250 meV). These Mott type excitons are highly sensitive to the self-assembly process, inorganic network distortions, thickness and inter-layer distortions of these soft two-dimensional (2D) and weak van der Waal layered hybrids. We demonstrate strong room-temperature nonlinear excitation intensity dependent two-photon absorption induced exciton photoluminescence (2PA-PL) from these IO-MQWs, excited by infrared femtosecond laser pulses. Strongly confined excitons show distinctly different one- and two-photon excited photoluminescence energies: from free-excitons (2.41 eV) coupled to the perfectly aligned MQWs and from energy down-shifted excitons (2.33 eV) that originate from the locally crumpled layered architecture. High intensity femtosecond induced PL from one-photon absorption (1PA-PL) suggests saturation of absorption and exciton-exciton annihilation, with typical reduction in PL radiative relaxation times from 270 ps to 190 ps upon increasing excitation intensities. From a wide range of IR excitation tuning, the origin of 2PA-PL excitation is suggested to arise from exciton dark states which extend below the bandgap. Observed two-photon absorption coefficients (β ~75 cm/GW) and two-photon excitation cross-sections (η₂σ₂ ~ 110GM), further support the evidence for 2PA excitation origin. Both 1PA- and 2PA-PL spatial mappings over large areas of single crystal platelets demonstrate the co-existence of both free and deep-level crumpled excitons with some traces of defect-induced trap state emission. We conclude that the two-photon absorption induced PL is highly sensitive to the self-assembly process of few to many mono layers, the crystal packing and deep level defects. This study paves a way to tailor the nonlinear properties of many 2D material classes. Our results thus open new avenues for exploring fundamental phenomena and novel optoelectronic applications using layered inorganic-organic and other metal organic frameworks.

Rational synthesis of interpenetrated 3D covalent organic frameworks for asymmetric photocatalysis

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show great promise as heterogeneous photocatalysts, but they have not yet been explored for asymmetric photocatalysis, which is important for the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. We report here a pair of twofold interpenetrated 3D COFs adopting a rare (3,4)-connected ffc topology for photocatalytic asymmetric reactions by imine condensation of rectangular and trigonal building blocks. Both COFs containing a photoredox triphenylamine moiety are efficient photocatalysts for the cross-dehydrogenative coupling reactions and asymmetric α-alkylation of aldehydes integrated with a chiral imidazolidinone catalyst. Under visible-light irradiation, the targeted chiral products are produced in satisfactory yields with up to 94% enantiomeric excess, which are comparable to those of reported reactions using molecular metal complexes or organic dyes as photosensitizers. Whereas the COFs became amorphous after catalysis, they can be recrystallized through solvent-assisted linker exchange and reused without performance loss. This is the first report utilizing COFs as photocatalysts to promote enantioselective photochemical reactions.

Photopatterning of fluorescent host-guest carriers through pore activation of metal-organic framework single crystals

Encoded fluorescent particles are fabricated through the selective uptake of dyes in photopatterned metal-organic framework single crystals. The concept is based on spatially controlled photochemical cleavage of pore-blocking pendant groups. Because of the crystalline and porous nature of the host, this approach enables guest uptake that is tunable and can be triggered though controlled irradiation.

Thiophene insertion for continuous modulation of the photoelectronic properties of triphenylamine-based metal–organic frameworks for photocatalytic sulfonylation–cyclisation of activated alkenes

Ligand-engineering through the insertion of thiophenes precisely modulates the photoelectronic properties of metal–organic frameworks for efficient and diastereoselective photocatalytic sulfonylation–cyclisation of activated alkenes.

Modifying electron transfer between photoredox and organocatalytic units via framework interpenetration for β-carbonyl functionalization

Modifying electron transfer pathways is essential to controlling the regioselectivity of heterogeneous photochemical transformations relevant to saturated carbonyls, due to fixed catalytic sites. Here we show that the interpenetration of metal-organic frameworks that contain both photoredox and asymmetric catalytic units can adjust the separations and electron transfer process between them. The enforced close proximity between two active sites via framework interpenetration accelerates the electron transfer between the oxidized photosensitizer and enamine intermediate, enabling the generation of 5πe^- β-enaminyl radicals before the intermediates couple with other active species, achieving β-functionalized carbonyl products. The enriched benzoate and iminium groups in the catalysts provide a suitable Lewis-acid/base environment to stabilize the active radicals, allowing the protocol described to advance the β-functionalization of saturated cyclic ketones with aryl ketones to deliver γ-hydroxyketone motifs. The homochiral environment of the pores within the recyclable frameworks provides additional spatial constraints to enhance the regioselectivity and enantioselectivity.Metal organic frameworks are promising catalysts due to their porous structure and the possible incorporation of multiple active sites. Here, the authors show that interpenetrated metal-organic frameworks containing both a photocatalyst and an organocatalyst catalyse the β-alkylation of carbonyl compounds.

Nonlinear optical properties, upconversion and lasing in metal–organic frameworks

The building block modular approach that lies behind coordination polymers (CPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) results not only in a plethora of materials that can be obtained but also in a vast array of nonlinear optical properties that could be aimed at.

New rht-Type Metal-Organic Frameworks Decorated with Acylamide Groups for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Capture and Chemical Fixation from Raw Power Plant Flue Gas

The combination of carbon dioxide capture and chemical fixation in a one-pot process is attractive for both chemists and governments. The cycloaddition of carbon dioxide with epoxides to produce cyclic carbonates is an atomic economical reaction without any side products. By incorporating acylamide to enhance the binding affinity toward CO₂, new rht-type metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with (3, 28) and (3, 24) connected units were constructed. Zn-NTTA with two types of dinuclear paddlewheel building blocks-{Zn₂(OOC^-)₄} and {Zn₂(OOC^-)₃}. The high uptake of CO₂ (115.6 cm³·g^-1) and selectivity over N₂ (30:1) at 273 K indicated that these MOFs are excellent candidates for postcombustion CO₂ isolation and capture. The MOFs feature high catalytic activity, rapid dynamics of transformation and excellent stability with turnover number (TON) values up to 110 000 per paddlewheel unit after 5 × 6 rounds of recyclability, demonstrating that they are promising heterogeneous catalysts for CO₂ cyclo-addition to value-added cyclic carbonates. The cycloaddition of epoxides with wet gases demonstrated that the catalyst activity was not affected by moisture, and the indices of the PXRD patterns of the bulk samples filtered from the catalytic reaction revealed that the crystallinities were maintained. The combination of the selective capture and catalytic transformation in one-pot enables the use of a negative-cost feedstock-raw power plant flue gas without any separation and purification-revealing the broad prospects of such MOFs for practical CO₂ fixation in industry.

Emerging Multifunctional Metal-Organic Framework Materials

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), also known as coordination polymers, represent an interesting type of solid crystalline materials that can be straightforwardly self-assembled through the coordination of metal ions/clusters with organic linkers. Owing to the modular nature and mild conditions of MOF synthesis, the porosities of MOF materials can be systematically tuned by judicious selection of molecular building blocks, and a variety of functional sites/groups can be introduced into metal ions/clusters, organic linkers, or pore spaces through pre-designing or post-synthetic approaches. These unique advantages enable MOFs to be used as a highly versatile and tunable platform for exploring multifunctional MOF materials. Here, the bright potential of MOF materials as emerging multifunctional materials is highlighted in some of the most important applications for gas storage and separation, optical, electric and magnetic materials, chemical sensing, catalysis, and biomedicine.

Multiphoton harvesting metal-organic frameworks

Multiphoton upconversion is a process where two or more photons are absorbed simultaneously to excite an electron to an excited state and, subsequently, the relaxation of electron gives rise to the emission of a photon with frequency greater than those of the absorbed photons. Materials possessing such property attracted attention due to applications in biological imaging, photodynamic therapy, three-dimensional optical data storage, frequency-upconverted lasing and optical power limiting. Here we report four-photon upconversion in metal–organic frameworks containing the ligand, trans, trans-9,10-bis(4-pyridylethenyl)anthracene. The ligand has a symmetrical acceptor–π–donor–π–acceptor structure and a singlet biradical electronic ground state, which boosted its multiphoton absorption cross-sections. We demonstrate that the upconversion efficiency can be enhanced by Förster resonance energy transfer within host–guest metal–organic frameworks consisting of encapsulated high quantum yielding guest molecules. Using these strategies, metal–organic framework materials, which can exhibit frequency-upconverted photoluminescence excited by simultaneous multiphoton absorption, can be rationally designed and synthesized.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) combining the properties of the metal ions and organic ligands are been proposed for many applications. Here Quah et al. demonstrate multiphoton excitation fluorescence in MOF materials enhanced by high quantum yielding guest molecules and Förster resonance energy transfer.

Chiral environment of catalytic sites in the chiral metal-organic frameworks

Chiral metal-organic frameworks are considered a useful platform in heterogeneous catalysis for enantioselective chemical transformations. However, it has been observed that the enantioselectivity is sensitive to the site at which the reaction takes place, even in a single crystal, since the chiral environment of the catalytic site varies according to its location, e.g., that of the surface is anisotropic, whereas that of the interior is isotropic.

Merging of the photocatalysis and copper catalysis in metal-organic frameworks for oxidative C-C bond formation

A new approach to merge Cu-catalysis/Ru-photocatalysis within one single MOF was achieved by incorporating [SiW₁₁O₃₉Ru(H₂O)]^5– into Cu–BPY MOFs.

The direct formation of new C–C bonds through photocatalytic oxidative coupling from low reactive sp³ C–H bonds using environmentally benign and cheap oxygen as oxidant is an important area in sustainable chemistry. By incorporating the photoredox catalyst [SiW₁₁O₃₉Ru(H₂O)]^5– into the pores of Cu-based metal–organic frameworks, a new approach for merging Cu-catalysis/Ru-photocatalysis within one single MOF was achieved. The direct Cu^II–O–W(Ru) bridges made the two metal catalyses being synergetic, enabling the application on the catalysis of the oxidative coupling C–C bond formation from acetophenones and N-phenyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline with excellent conversion and size-selectivity. The method takes advantage of visible light photoredox catalysis to generate iminium ion intermediate from N-phenyl-tetrahydroisoquinoline under mild conditions and the easy combination with Cu-catalyzed activation of nucleophiles. Control catalytic experiments using similar Cu-based sheets but with the photoredox catalytic anions embedded was also investigated for comparison.