Negative cooperativity upon hydrogen bond-stabilized O<sub>2</sub> adsorption in a redox-active metal-organic framework.

Oktawiec, Julia; Jiang, Henry Z H; Vitillo, Jenny G; Reed, Douglas A; Darago, Lucy E; Trump, Benjamin A; Bernales, Varinia; Li, Harriet et al. · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

The design of stable adsorbents capable of selectively capturing dioxygen with a high reversible capacity is a crucial goal in functional materials development. Drawing inspiration from biological O<sub>2</sub> carriers, we demonstrate that coupling metal-based electron transfer with secondary coordination sphere effects in the metal-organic framework Co<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>(bbta) (H<sub>2</sub>bbta = 1H,5H-benzo(1,2-d:4,5-d')bistriazole) leads to strong and reversible adsorption of O<sub>2</sub>. In particular, moderate-strength hydrogen bonding stabilizes a cobalt(III)-superoxo species formed upon O<sub>2</sub> adsorption. Notably, O<sub>2</sub>-binding in this material weakens as a function of loading, as a result of negative cooperativity arising from electronic effects within the extended framework lattice. This unprecedented behavior extends the tunable properties that can be used to design metal-organic frameworks for adsorption-based applications.