David Keen

Abstract:

We report total neutron scattering measurements on the metal-organic perovskite analogue dimethylammonium manganese(ii) formate, (CD3)2ND2[Mn(DCO2)3]. Reverse Monte Carlo modelling shows that, in both the disordered high-temperature and ordered low-temperature phases, the ammonium moiety forms substantially shorter hydrogen bonds (N...O = 2.4 Å and 2.6 Å) than are visible in the average crystal structures. These bonds result from a pincer-like motion of two adjacent formate ions about the dimethylammonium ion in such a way that the framework can adjust independently to the positions of nearest-neighbour dimethylammonium ions. At low temperatures the shortest hydrogen bond is less favourable, apparently because it involves a greater distortion of the framework. Furthermore, in the high-temperature phase, in addition to the three disordered nitrogen positions expected from the average crystal structure, there appear to be also smaller probability maxima between these positions, corresponding to orientations in which the dimethylammonium is hydrogen-bonded to the two oxygen atoms of a single formate ion. The spontaneous strain across the phase transition reveals a contraction of the framework about the dimethylammonium cation, continuing as the material is cooled below the transition temperature. These results provide direct evidence of the local atomic structure of the guest-framework hydrogen bonding, and in particular the distortions of the framework responsible for the phase transition in this system.

Abstract:

Crystalline solids dominate the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with access to the liquid and glass states of matter usually prohibited by relatively low temperatures of thermal decomposition. In this work, we give due consideration to framework chemistry and topology to expand the phenomenon of the melting of 3D MOFs, linking crystal chemistry to framework melting temperature and kinetic fragility of the glass-forming liquids. Here we show that melting temperatures can be lowered by altering the chemistry of the crystalline MOF state, which provides a route to facilitate the melting of other MOFs. The glasses formed upon vitrification are chemically and structurally distinct from the three other existing categories of melt-quenched glasses (inorganic nonmetallic, organic, and metallic), and retain the basic metal-ligand connectivity of crystalline MOFs, which connects their mechanical properties to their starting chemical composition. The transfer of functionality from crystal to glass points toward new routes to tunable, functional hybrid glasses.

Abstract:

The formation of a spin glass generally requires that magnetic exchange interactions are both frustrated and disordered. Consequently, the origin of spin-glass behavior in Y2Mo2O7—in which magnetic Mo4þ ions occupy a frustrated pyrochlore lattice with minimal compositional disorder—has been a longstanding question. Here, we use neutron and x-ray pair-distribution function (PDF) analysis to develop a disorder model that resolves apparent incompatibilities between previously reported PDF, extended x-rayabsorption fine structure spectroscopy, and NMR studies, and provides a new and physical explanation of the exchange disorder responsible for spin-glass formation. We show that Mo4þ ions displace according to a local “two-in–two-out” rule on each Mo4 tetrahedron, driven by orbital dimerization of Jahn-Teller active Mo4þ ions. Long-range orbital order is prevented by the macroscopic degeneracy of dimer coverings permitted by the pyrochlore lattice. Cooperative O2− displacements yield a distribution of Mo–O–Mo angles, which in turn introduces disorder into magnetic interactions. Our study demonstrates experimentally how frustration of atomic displacements can assume the role of compositional disorder in driving a spin-glass transition.

Abstract:

The mechanism and products of the structural collapse of the metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) UiO-66, MIL-140B and MIL-140C upon ball-milling are investigated through solid state 13C NMR and pair distribution function (PDF) studies, finding amorphization to proceed by the breaking of a fraction of metal–ligand bonding in each case. The amorphous products contain inorganic–organic bonding motifs reminiscent of the crystalline phases. Whilst the inorganic Zr6O4(OH)4 clusters of UiO-66 remain intact upon structural collapse, the ZrO backbone of the MIL-140 frameworks undergoes substantial distortion. Density functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate defective models of MIL-140B and show, through comparison of calculated and experimental 13C NMR spectra, that amorphization and defects in the materials are linked.