A van der Waals porous crystal featuring conformational flexibility and permanent porosity for ultrafast water release

Kentaro Maejima; Heishun Zen; Hiroyasu Sato; Eiji Nishibori; Tomoya Enjou; Youhei Takeda; Satoshi Minakata; Eri Hisamura; Ken Albrecht; Yuka Ikemoto; Irene Badía-Domínguez; Juan Sánchez-Rincón; M. Carmen Ruiz Delgado; Yohei Yamamoto; Hiroshi Yamagishi

doi:10.1038/s42004-024-01366-1

Communications Chemistry (Nov 2024)

A van der Waals porous crystal featuring conformational flexibility and permanent porosity for ultrafast water release

Kentaro Maejima,
Heishun Zen,
Hiroyasu Sato,
Eiji Nishibori,
Tomoya Enjou,
Youhei Takeda,
Satoshi Minakata,
Eri Hisamura,
Ken Albrecht,
Yuka Ikemoto,
Irene Badía-Domínguez,
Juan Sánchez-Rincón,
M. Carmen Ruiz Delgado,
Yohei Yamamoto,
Hiroshi Yamagishi

Affiliations

Kentaro Maejima: Department of Materials Science, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai
Heishun Zen: Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Gokasho
Hiroyasu Sato: Rigaku Corporation, 12-9-3 Matsubara
Eiji Nishibori: Department of Physics, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai
Tomoya Enjou: Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka
Youhei Takeda: Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka
Satoshi Minakata: Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka
Eri Hisamura: Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga-shi
Ken Albrecht: Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga-shi
Yuka Ikemoto: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) SPring-8, 1-1-1 Koto
Irene Badía-Domínguez: Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n
Juan Sánchez-Rincón: Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n
M. Carmen Ruiz Delgado: Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n
Yohei Yamamoto: Department of Materials Science, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai
Hiroshi Yamagishi: Department of Materials Science, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-024-01366-1
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Flexibility has been pursued enthusiastically in the field of porous crystals for enhancing their adsorption and separation performances. However, flexibility has never been observed among porous crystals sustained thoroughly by van der Waals interactions since flexible motions readily lead to the collapse of the porous architecture. Here we report a van der Waals crystal featuring conformational flexibility as well as permanent microporosity. The single-crystal structure and its structural transition in response to the adsorption of water molecules were unambiguously disclosed by means of electron and X-ray crystal structure analyses. The peripheral aromatic rings of the constituent molecule rotated as increasing the ambient humidity, while the connectivity of the pores was maintained throughout the structural transition. The transformative pores allowed the guest water molecules to move exceedingly quickly through the pores with a time constant of 490 μs. We demonstrated that the quick release of water induced by photothermal heating induced a significant upward bending of a film set above the crystalline powder compared to conventional porous materials. This finding contributes to the future crystal engineering based on van der Waals interactions rather than cohesive bonds.

Published in Communications Chemistry

ISSN: 2399-3669 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry
Website: https://www.nature.com/commschem

About the journal