Volume 59, Issue 36 pp. 15325-15341
Minireview

Chemistry of Soft Porous Crystals: Structural Dynamics and Gas Adsorption Properties

Dr. Simon Krause

Corresponding Author

Dr. Simon Krause

Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands

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Dr. Nobuhiko Hosono

Dr. Nobuhiko Hosono

Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8561 Japan

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Prof. Susumu Kitagawa

Corresponding Author

Prof. Susumu Kitagawa

Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University, Ushinomiya, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan

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First published: 27 May 2020
Citations: 325

Graphical Abstract

Soft porous crystals (SPCs) can undergo cooperative stimuli-responsive structural transitions that strongly impact the physical properties and pore structure of the crystal. Hysteretic behavior and counterintuitive adsorption phenomena are a consequence of the complex energy landscapes and cooperativity of SPCs with regard to adsorption/desorption-induced deformation.

Abstract

In this Minireview, we discuss the fundamental chemistry of soft porous crystals (SPCs) by characterizing their common structural features and the resulting structural softness and transitions. In particular, we focus on the recently emerging properties based on metastable transitions and those arising from local dynamics. By comparing the resulting adsorption properties to those of commonly applied rigid adsorbents, we highlight the potential of SPCs to revolutionize adsorption-based technologies, considering our current understanding of the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. We provide brief outlines for the experimental and computational characterization of such phenomena and offer an outlook toward next-generation SPCs likely to be discovered in the next decade.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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