S.M.J. Rogge

Influence of a confined methanol solvent on the reactivity of active sites in UiO-66

C. Caratelli, J. Hajek, S.M.J. Rogge, S. Vandenbrande, E.J. Meijer, M. Waroquier, V. Van Speybroeck
ChemPhysChem
19 (4), 420-429
2018
A1

Abstract 

UiO-66, composed of Zr-oxide bricks and terephthalate linkers, is currently one of the most studied metal-organic frameworks due to its exceptional stability. Defects can be introduced in the structure, creating undercoordinated Zr atoms which are Lewis acid sites. Here, additional Brønsted sites can be generated by coordinated protic species from the solvent. In this contribution, a multilevel modeling approach was applied to unravel the effect of a confined methanol solvent on the active sites in UiO-66. First, active sites were explored with static periodic density functional theory calculations to investigate adsorption of water and methanol. Solvent was then introduced in the pores with grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations, followed by a series of molecular dynamics simulations at operating conditions. A hydrogen-bonded network of methanol molecules is formed, allowing the protons to shuttle between solvent methanol, adsorbed water, and the inorganic brick. Upon deprotonation of an active site, the methanol solvent aids the transfer of protons and stabilizes charged configurations via hydrogen bonding, which could be crucial in stabilizing reactive intermediates. The multilevel modeling approach adopted here sheds light on the important role of a confined solvent on the active sites in the UiO-66 material, introducing dynamic acidity in the system at finite temperatures by which protons may be easily shuttled from various positions at the active sites.

Open Access version available at UGent repository
Gold Open Access

Metal-organic and covalent organic frameworks as single-site catalysts

S.M.J. Rogge, A. Bavykina, J. Hajek, H. Garcia, A.I. Olivos-Suarez, A. Sepúlveda-Escribano, A. Vimont, G. Clet, P. Bazin, F. Kapteijn, M. Daturi, E.V. Ramos-Fernandez, F.X. Llabres i Xamena, V. Van Speybroeck, J. Gascon
Chemical Society Reviews
46 (11), 3134-3184
2017
A1

Abstract 

Heterogeneous single-site catalysts consist of isolated, well-defined, active sites that are spatially separated in a given solid and, ideally, structurally identical. In this review, the potential of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as platforms for the development of heterogeneous single-site catalysts is reviewed thoroughly. In the first part of this article, synthetic strategies and progress in the implementation of such sites in these two classes of materials are discussed. Because these solids are excellent playgrounds to allow a better understanding of catalytic functions, we highlight the most important recent advances in the modelling and spectroscopic characterization of single-site catalysts based on these materials. Finally, we discuss the potential of MOFs as materials in which several single-site catalytic functions can be combined within one framework along with their potential as powerful enzyme-mimicking materials. The review is wrapped up with our personal vision on future research directions.

Open Access version available at UGent repository
Gold Open Access

Thermodynamic Insight in the High-Pressure Behavior of UiO-66: Effect of Linker Defects and Linker Expansion

S.M.J. Rogge, J. Wieme, L. Vanduyfhuys, S. Vandenbrande, G. Maurin, T. Verstraelen, M. Waroquier, V. Van Speybroeck
Chemistry of Materials
28 (16), 5721-5732
2016
A1

Abstract 

In this Article, we present a molecular-level understanding of the experimentally observed loss of crystallinity in UiO-66-type metal–organic frameworks, including the pristine UiO-66 to -68 as well as defect-containing UiO-66 materials, under the influence of external pressure. This goal is achieved by constructing pressure-versus-volume profiles at finite temperatures using a thermodynamic approach relying on ab initio derived force fields. On the atomic level, the phenomenon is reflected in a sudden drop in the number of symmetry operators for the crystallographic unit cell because of the disordered displacement of the organic linkers with respect to the inorganic bricks. For the defect-containing samples, a reduced mechanical stability is observed, however, critically depending on the distribution of these defects throughout the material, hence demonstrating the importance of judiciously characterizing defects in these materials.

This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b01956

Open Access version available at UGent repository
Gold Open Access

Acidity constant (pKa) calculation of large solvated dye molecules: evaluation of two advanced molecular dynamics methods

T. De Meyer, B. Ensing, S.M.J. Rogge, K. De Clerck, E.J. Meijer, V. Van Speybroeck
ChemPhysChem
17 (21), 3447–3459
2016
A1

Abstract 

pH-sensitive dyes are increasingly applied onto polymer substrates for the creation of novel sensor materials. Recently, these dye molecules have been modified to form a covalent bond with the polymer host. This can have a large influence on the pH-sensitive properties, in particular on the acidity constant (pKa). Obtaining molecular control over the factors that influence the pK$_a$ value is mandatory for future intelligent design of sensor materials. Herein, we show that advanced molecular dynamics (MD) methods have reached the level where pKa values of large solvated dye molecules can be predicted with high accuracy. Two MD methods are used in this work: steered or restrained MD and the insertion/deletion scheme. Both are first calibrated on a set of phenol derivatives and afterwards applied to the dye molecule Bromothymol Blue. Excellent agreement with experimental values is obtained, which opens perspectives for using these methods for designing dye molecules.

Open Access version available at UGent repository

Exploring the flexibility of MIL-47(V)-type materials using force field molecular dynamics simulations

J. Wieme, L. Vanduyfhuys, S.M.J. Rogge, M. Waroquier, V. Van Speybroeck
Journal of Physical Chemistry C
120 (27), 14934-14947
2016
A1

Abstract 

The flexibility of three MIL-47(V)-type materials (MIL-47, COMOC-2 and COMOC-3) has been explored by constructing the pressure-versus-volume and free energy-versus-volume curves at various temperatures ranging from 100 K to 400 K. This is done with first-principles based force fields using the recently proposed QuickFF parameterization protocol. Specific terms were added for the materials at hand to describe the asymmetry of the one-dimensional vanadium-oxide chain and to account for the flexibility of the organic linkers. The force fields are used in a series of molecular dynamics simulations at fixed volumes, but varying unit cell shapes. The three materials show a distinct pressure-versus-volume behavior, which underlines the ability to tune the mechanical properties by varying the linkers towards different applications such as nanosprings, dampers and shock absorbers.

Open Access version available at UGent repository

A comparison of barostats for the mechanical characterization of metal-organic frameworks

S.M.J. Rogge, L. Vanduyfhuys, A. Ghysels, M. Waroquier, T. Verstraelen, G. Maurin, V. Van Speybroeck
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation (JCTC)
11 (12), 5583-5597
2015
A1

Abstract 

In this paper, three barostat coupling schemes for pressure control, which are commonly used in molecular dynamics simulations, are critically compared to characterise the rigid MOF-5 and the flexible MIL-53(Al) metal-organic frameworks. We investigate the performance of the three barostats, the Berendsen, the Martyna-Tuckerman-Tobias-Klein (MTTK) and the Langevin coupling methods, in reproducing the cell parameters and the pressure versus volume behaviour in isothermal-isobaric simulations. A thermodynamic integration method is used to construct the free energy profiles as a function of volume at finite temperature. It is observed that the aforementioned static properties are well reproduced with the three barostats. However, for static properties depending nonlinearly on the pressure, the Berendsen barostat might give deviating results as it suppresses pressure fluctuations more drastically. Finally, dynamic properties, which are directly related to the fluctuations of the cell, such as the time to transition from the large-pore to the closed-pore phase, cannot be well reproduced by any of the coupling schemes.

Semi-Analytical mean-field model for predicting breathing in Metal-Organic Frameworks

L. Vanduyfhuys, A. Ghysels, S.M.J. Rogge, R. Demuynck, V. Van Speybroeck
Molecular Simulation
41, 16-17, 1311-1328
2015
A1

Abstract 

A new semi-analytical model is proposed to rationalize breathing of MIL-53 type materials. The model is applied on two case studies, the guest-induced breathing of MIL-53(Cr) with CO 2 and CH 4 , and the phase transformations for MIL-53(Al) upon xenon adsorption. Experimentally, MIL-53(Cr) breathes upon CO 2 adsorption, which was not observed for CH 4 . This result could be ascribed to the stronger interaction of carbon dioxide with the host matrix. For MIL-53(Al) a phase transition from the large pore phase could be enforced to an intermediate phase with volumes of about 1160 − 1300 A, which corresponds well to the phase observed experimentally upon xenon adsorption. Our thermodynamic model correlates nicely with the adsorption pressure model proposed by Coudert et al. Furthermore the model can predict breathing behavior of other flexible materials, if the user can determine the free energy of the empty host, the interaction energy between a guest molecule and the host matrix and the pore volume accessible to the guest molecules. This will allow to generate the osmotic potential from which the equilibria can be deduced and the anticipated experimentally observed phase may be predicted.

Open Access version available at UGent repository

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