A design for a continuous source, polychromatic beam powder neutron diffractometer based on an energy-dispersive detection methodology is proposed. Such an instrument would offer significantly higher incident neutron flux, with an attendant increase in data collection rate, reducing the time per scan from hours to seconds. Completely passive components are conceived for neutron bandwidth shaping, and detection is achieved using a massively parallel analyzer/detector system, making installation and operation of the instrument comparatively simple. The proposed instrument is intended to be used for rapid structural characterizations of small samples or for kinetic studies of materials undergoing structural or magnetic phase changes.

Supporting evidence: Supported dihydrogen–metal complexes have been proposed for room-temperature hydrogen storage, however, there has been little experimental evidence to support such predictions. Using inelastic neutron scattering and ab initio DFT, direct evidence is provided for activated formation of a dihydrogen complex in a silica-supported TiIII organometallic compound. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Two isomeric phases of the NbO-type structure have been discovered: PCN-16 (alpha phase) and PCN-16' (beta phase), and gas sorption studies revealed that the alpha phase possesses a larger surface area, leading to higher hydrogen and methane storage capacity as compared with the beta phase.

A series of idealized model systemswith various diboronic acid linker concentrations (and con-sequently different pore size, pore volume, and surface areas)were examined (see Supporting Information for details).Structural optimization yielded a circa 1.1 nm interlayerseparation for these ideal structures. The simulated absolute

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a novel family of physisorptive materials that have exhibited great promise for methane storage. So far, a detailed understanding of their methane adsorption mechanism is still scarce. Herein, we report a comprehensive mechanistic study of methane storage in three milestone MOF compounds (HKUST-1, PCN-11, and PCN-14) the CH(4) storage capacities of which are among the highest reported so far among all porous materials. The three MOFs consist of the same dicopper paddlewheel secondary building units, but contain different organic linkers, leading to cagelike pores with various sizes and geometries. From neutron powder diffraction experiments and accurate data analysis, assisted by grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations and DFT calculations, we unambiguously revealed the exact locations of the stored methane molecules in these MOF materials. We found that methane uptake takes place primarily at two types of strong adsorption site: 1) the open Cu coordination sites, which exhibit enhanced Coulomb attraction toward methane, and 2) the van der Waals potential pocket sites, in which the total dispersive interactions are enhanced due to the molecule being in contact with multiple "surfaces". Interestingly, the enhanced van der Waals sites are present exclusively in small cages and at the windows to these cages, whereas large cages with relatively flat pore surfaces bind very little methane. Our results suggest that further, rational development of new MOF compounds for methane storage applications should focus on enriching open metal sites, increasing the volume percentage of accessible small cages and channels, and minimizing the fraction of large pores.

We report a detailed study of CO2 adsorption in two important metal organic framework (MOF) compounds (Mg-MOF-74 and HKUST-1). In both MOFs, the open metal ions were identified as the primary binding sites through neutron diffraction measurements. The relatively strong metal-CO2 binding was attributed to an enhanced electrostatic interaction, and vibrational mode analysis shows that the adsorbed CO2 molecule is strongly attached through one of its oxygen atoms while the rest of the molecule is relatively free. This high orientational disorder is the reason for the large apparent O-C-O bond bending angle derived from diffraction measurements. Our calculations give only a small degree of bond bending, suggesting that the CO2 adsorption on the open metal site is still largely physisorption. Interestingly, the overall metal-CO2 binding strength is right in the range which can facilitate both adsorption (CO2 capture) and desorption (MOP regeneration) under typical flue gas conditions.

Ordered microporous carbons containing dispersed platinum nanoparticles were fabricated and chosen as suitable models to investigate micro-structure development and hydrogen transport properties of zeolite-templated carbons. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the enhanced heat of adsorption is related to the narrow micro-channels templated from the zeolite and the presence of certain CO groups on the carbon. The lack of a well-defined and intense rotational transition line and the persistent broad H2 recoil spectrum in neutron scattering results suggests a distribution of binding sites. Most interestingly, hydrogen diffusion occurs on two time scales, consisting of a fast liquid-like jump diffusion on the timescale of picoseconds along with an even faster bulk-like diffusion. The liquid-like motion is characterized by a diffusion constant of (2.1±0.3)×10−8m2/s with an activation energy of ca. 77K; both values indicate somewhat lower mobility than similar dynamics of H2 on nanotubes, activated carbon XC-72, or Grafoil, yet greater mobility than that of bulk liquid. These unusual characteristics for hydrogen in carbons are believed to arise from the network of narrow pores in this zeolite-templated image of the zeolite. In fact, the diffusion constants of the templated carbons are extremely similar to those measured for zeolite 13X.

Development of high-capacity hydrogen-storage systems utilizing physisorption at high pressure and low temperature is hindered by poor understanding of the pore size/shape requirements for achieving the maximum hydrogen uptake. Tuning the carbon structure and pore size of carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) with high accuracy by using different starting carbides, chlorination temperatures and activation temperatures allows rational design of carbon materials with increased hydrogen-storage capacity. Systematic experimental investigation of a large number of CDCs with controlled pore size distributions and specific surface area (SSA) shows that pores larger than ∼1.5nm contribute little to hydrogen storage. It has been experimentally demonstrated that, just as at ambient pressure, pores of 0.6–0.7nm in diameter provide the largest H2 uptake per unit SSA at elevated pressures and liquid nitrogen temperatures. The effect of pore size was stronger than the effect of surface chemistry on the hydrogen uptake.

A series of isostructural metal-organic framework polymers of composition [Cu2(L)(H2O)2] (L= tetracarboxylate ligands), denoted NOTT-nnn, has been synthesized and characterized. Single crystal X-ray structures confirm the complexes to contain binuclear Cu(II) paddlewheel nodes each bridged by four carboxylate centers to give a NbO-type network of 64.82 topology. These complexes are activated by solvent exchange with acetone coupled to heating cycles under vacuum to afford the desolvated porous materials NOTT-100 to NOTT-109. These incorporate a vacant coordination site at each Cu(II) center and have large pore volumes that contribute to the observed high H2 adsorption. Indeed, NOTT-103 at 77 K and 60 bar shows a very high total H2 adsorption of 77.8 mg g(-)- equivalent to 7.78 wt% [wt% = (weight of adsorbed H2)/(weight of host material)] or 7.22 wt% [wt% = 100(weight of adsorbed H2)/(weight of host material + weight of adsorbed H2)]. Neutron powder diffraction studies on NOTT-101 reveal three adsorption sites for this material: at the exposed Cu(II) coordination site, at the pocket formed by three {Cu2} paddle wheels, and at the cusp of three phenyl rings. Systematic virial analysis of the H2 isotherms suggests that the H2 binding energies at these sites are very similar and the differences are smaller than 1.0 kJ mol-1, although the adsorption enthalpies for H2 at the exposed Cu(II) site are significantly affected by pore metrics. Introducing methyl groups or using kinked ligands to create smaller pores can enhance the isosteric heat of adsorption and improve H2 adsorption. However, although increasing the overlap of potential energy fields of pore walls increases the heat of H2 adsorption at low pressure, it may be detrimental to the overall adsorption capacity by reducing the pore volume.

Diamonds are forever: A diamond-like framework in which the C–C bonds are replaced with rigid phenyl rings (see picture) is not only structurally stable but also has a large internal surface area. This porous aromatic framework (PAF-1) demonstrates high uptake capacities of hydrogen and carbon dioxide as well as benzene and toluene vapors, and has an unprecedented surface area of 7100 m2 g−1. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

A nanotubular metal-organic framework, PCN-19, was constructed based on a mu(3)-oxo-trinickel basic carboxylate secondary building unit (SBU) and the 9,10-anthracenedi-carboxylate ligand; its permanent porosity was confirmed by N-2 adsorption isotherms, and its H-2 storage performances were evaluated under both low and high pressures at 77 K.