Metal Organic Frameworks for Capture and Neutralisation of NOx and NH3: A Comprehensive EPR Study

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Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials made of metal ions and organic entities called ligands. Choice of organic ligands allows to build functional 3D structures with large pores that can be used to capture, store and neutralise CO2, NO2, NO or NH3, providing solutions for reducing air pollution. Moreover, metal sites of MOFs can be used in catalysis to convert, photo- or electro-chemically, certain toxic substances into useful chemical products, an avenue that will also be explored in this project. The aim of the project is to develop robust metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that can capture, separate and neutralize targeted air pollutants such as NO, NO2 and NH3, and to use advanced electron paramagnetic resonance techniques to understand the mechanisms involved in gas absorption and catalytic reactions occurring over MOF catalysts.Specific objectives can be summarized as follows: i) Synthesize robust metal-organic frameworks that incorporate varying organic ligands and diverse metal ions (Ti, Fe, Cu, Zr, Pd). ii) Characterize the compounds by standard physical techniques (XRD, NMR, SQUID, XPS, SEM).iii) Study the gas absorption and electronic properties of the compounds to establish their ability as catalysts.iv) Apply EPR to probe material stability versus absorption of corrosive gases.v) Explore the mechanisms of gas adsorption and related catalytic reactions by advanced EPR techniquesvi) Model recorded EPR data with specific software to gain understanding of their properties and how we can design better MOF materials for clean-air applications.The structure-function mechanistic information generated from research will help to design improved MOF structures for efficient gas adsorption and green energy production. The student will gain skills in the synthesis of metal organic frameworks, EPR spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, gas absorption, and catalysis monitored by EPR, as well as modelling of EPR spectra using specialised software.