Collaborative Research: Metal-Organic Nanotubes as Tunable Porous Fibers

在材料研究部固体和材料化学项目的支持下，田纳西州大学的大卫·詹金斯教授和西北大学的内森·詹内斯基教授提出了一些建议。正在研究金属有机纳米管(Monts)，这是金属有机骨架(MOF)的一维类似物。金属有机纳米管是纳米级的吸管，由金属和有机成分(配体)之间的化学键构建而成。改变配体的设计改变结构内的孔大小，这是通过Jenkins小组的合成有机化学实现的。改变和调节孔径对于气体分离等应用非常重要。对于蒙特来说，要实现他们作为能够吸取流体和气体并进行运输的新型纳米材料的目标，关键是要控制它们的结构，并在纳米尺度上理解它们。因此，Gianneschi小组用电子显微镜研究了它们的形成过程。最后，将配体混合在一起允许以一种结构上让人想起塑料中的共聚的方式来共聚蒙脱土。将这些配体混合在一起提供了调整这些材料表面的机会。该项目还包括为学生提供研究机会。此外，教授们通过YouTube和维基百科等数字方法展示关于蒙特的研究，从而使公众能够接触到他们的研究。技术摘要在材料研究部固体和材料化学计划的支持下，田纳西州大学的大卫·詹金斯教授和西北大学的内森·詹内斯基教授。正在研究金属有机纳米管(Monts)，这是金属有机骨架(MOF)的一维类似物。由于任何材料的维度决定了它的性质、功能和应用范围，蒙脱石是一种重要的新型可调多孔材料，是对MOF的补充。该项目的基本目标是开发一种系统地控制蒙脱石的孔径、管填充、粒度和组成的方法。孔的大小是通过形成2柱撑蒙脱土的有机配体的等网状合成来控制的。配基设计也被用来调节Mont管之间的非共价相互作用，这导致了管填充。通过乳化液等两相反应混合物控制颗粒大小。最后，通过混合配位体对来控制这些材料的共聚。利用单晶X射线衍射、粉末X射线衍射和固体核磁共振等测量手段对宏观蒙脱石进行了研究。通过包括液态电子显微镜在内的电子显微镜技术研究了蒙脱石纳米束和合成过程中的动态过程。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical AbstractWith the support of the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research, professors David Jenkins (U. Tennessee) and Nathan Gianneschi (Northwestern U.) are studying metal organic nanotubes (MONTs), the 1D analogues of metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Metal organic nanotubes are straws on the nanometer scale that are built from chemical bonds between metals and organic components (ligands). Changing the design of the ligands changes the size of pores within the structures, which is achieved with synthetic organic chemistry from the Jenkins group. Changing and tuning the pore size is important for applications such as gas separations. For MONTs to achieve their goal as new nanomaterials capable of drawing up fluids and gases and transporting them, it is critical to control their structure and understand them at the nanometer length scale. Therefore, the Gianneschi group studies their formation processes with electron microscopy. Finally, mixing ligands together allows for copolymerized MONTs in a manner structurally reminiscent of copolymerization in plastics. Blending these ligands together offers opportunities to tune the surfaces of these materials. The project also encompasses research opportunities for students. Moreover, the professors make their research accessible to the general public by showcasing research on MONTs through digital methods such as YouTube and Wikipedia.Technical AbstractWith the support of the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research, professors David Jenkins (U. Tennessee) and Nathan Gianneschi (Northwestern U.) are studying metal organic nanotubes (MONTs), the 1D analogues of metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Because the dimensionality of any material dictates its properties, functionality and application scope, MONTs are a critical new tunable porous material that are complementary to MOFs. The fundamental aspiration of this project is to develop a method to control the pore size, tube packing, particle size, and composition of MONTs systematically. The pore size is controlled through isoreticular synthesis of organic ligands that form 2-pillared MONTs. Ligand design is also employed to tune the non-covalent interactions, which leads to tube packing, between the MONT tubes. The particle size is controlled through biphasic reaction mixtures such as emulsions. Finally, the composition is controlled through blending ligand pairs yielding copolymerization of these materials. Macroscopic MONTs are studied using measurements such as single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, and solid-state NMR. Nano bundles of MONTs and dynamic processes during synthesis are investigated with electron microscopy techniques including liquid phase TEM.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.