The object of this thesis is to get a deeper understanding of the role of modulator agents in the synthesis of Zr- and Hf-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their impact on framework properties, such as textural properties, stability, hydrophobicity, and catalytic activity. For this purpose, MOFs are investigated that are built up by the commercially available linker 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate and the Zr6(µ3-O)4(µ3-OH)412+ cluster. With proper choice of the modulator a new structure, namely DUT-126 (DUT = Dresden University of Technology), could be presented in the course of this work, besides the already known polymorphs of DUT-67, DUT-68 and DUT-69. Furthermore, DUT-67 is chosen as a model structure to functionalise the metal cluster of the framework by exchanging the modulator post-synthetically with hydrophobic fluorinated monocarboxylic acids. With the introduction of these fluorinated molecules, the surface polarities and the stability against water removal can be tuned. In addition, the metal clusters of DUT-67 were modified with a complete removal of the pristine modulator molecules by means of an acidic treatment in order to generate open metal sites that can function as Lewis acid sites. The suitability of DUT-67 and its acid treated analogues as heterogenous catalyst was tested on the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of cyclohexanone. Furthermore, the UiO-67 analogue DUT-122, which contains the luminescent linker 9-fluorenone-2,7-dicarboxylate, was tested as sensor material to detect solvent vapours. It could be shown that DUT-122 is sensitive to various solvent vapours, which induce photoluminescent shifts and intensity changes of the fluorescence emission profile depending on the polarity and the functionality of the respective solvent.

The object of this thesis is to get a deeper understanding of the role of modulator agents in the synthesis of Zr- and Hf-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their impact on framework properties, such as textural properties, stability, hydrophobicity, and catalytic activity. For this purpose, MOFs are investigated that are built up by the commercially available linker 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate and the Zr6(µ3-O)4(µ3-OH)412+ cluster. With proper choice of the modulator a new structure, namely DUT-126 (DUT = Dresden University of Technology), could be presented in the course of this work, besides the already known polymorphs of DUT-67, DUT-68 and DUT-69. Furthermore, DUT-67 is chosen as a model structure to functionalise the metal cluster of the framework by exchanging the modulator post-synthetically with hydrophobic fluorinated monocarboxylic acids. With the introduction of these fluorinated molecules, the surface polarities and the stability against water removal can be tuned. In addition, the metal clusters of DUT-67 were modified with a complete removal of the pristine modulator molecules by means of an acidic treatment in order to generate open metal sites that can function as Lewis acid sites. The suitability of DUT-67 and its acid treated analogues as heterogenous catalyst was tested on the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of cyclohexanone. Furthermore, the UiO-67 analogue DUT-122, which contains the luminescent linker 9-fluorenone-2,7-dicarboxylate, was tested as sensor material to detect solvent vapours. It could be shown that DUT-122 is sensitive to various solvent vapours, which induce photoluminescent shifts and intensity changes of the fluorescence emission profile depending on the polarity and the functionality of the respective solvent.

Die Assoziation kleiner Moleküle (Liganden) in hydrophobe Bindungstaschen spielt eine fundamentale Rolle in der Biomolekularerkennung und den Selbstassemblierungsprozessen der physikalischen Chemie wässriger Lösungen. Während der Einfluss des Wassers auf die freie Energie der Bindung (die Bindungsaffinität) im thermischen Gleichgewicht in den letzten Jahren auf immer stärkere Aufmerksamkeit stößt, ist die Rolle des Wassers in der Kinetik und der Bestimmung der Bindungsraten noch weitestgehend unverstanden. Welche nanoskaligen Effekte des Wassers beeinflussen die Dynamik des Liganden in der Nähe der Bindungstasche, und wie lassen sie sich durch die chemischen Eigenschaften der Tasche steuern? Neuste Forschungen haben mithilfe von molekularen Computersimulationen eines einfachen Modells gezeigt, dass Hydrationsfluktuationen in der hydrophoben Bindungstasche an die Dynamik des Liganden koppeln und damit seine Bindungsrate beeinflussen. Da die Wasserfluktuationen wiederum durch die Geometrie und Hydrophobizität der Bindungstasche beeinflusst werden, entsteht die Möglichkeit, kontrollierte Fluktuation zu kreieren, um die Bindungsraten des Liganden zu steuern. In dieser Arbeit wird diese Perspektive mithilfe eines theoretischen Multiskalenansatzes für prototypische Schlüssel-Schloss-Systeme aufgegriffen. Wir untersuchen den Einfluss der physikochemischen Eigenschaften der Bindungstasche auf die Diffusivität und die Bindungsraten des Liganden, und wie die Orientierung eines anisotropen Liganden an die Hydrationsfluktuationen der Tasche koppelt. Damit stellen wir fest, dass kleine Änderungen der Taschentiefe eine extreme Beschleunigung der Bindungsraten bewirken kann und, dass gleichzeitig die Bindung in konkave Taschen vorteilhaft für die Reorientierungsdynamik des Liganden ist. Die Resultate dieses Projekts sollen somit helfen, maßgeschneiderte Lösungen für funktionale „Host-Guest“-Systeme sowie pharmazeutische Moleküle in biomedizinischen Anwendungen zu entwickeln. / The association of small molecules (ligands) to hydrophobic binding pockets plays an integral role in biochemical molecular recognition and function, as well as in various self-assembly processes in the physical chemistry of aqueous solutions. While the investigation of water contributions to the binding free energy (affinity) in equilibrium has attracted a great deal of attention in the last decade, little is known about the role of water in determining the rates of binding and kinetic mechanisms. For instance, what are the nanoscale water effects on ligand diffusion close to the hydrophobic docking site, and how can they be steered by the chemical composition of the pocket? Recent studies used molecular simulations of a simple prototypical pocket-ligand model to show that hydration fluctuations within the binding pocket can couple to the ligand dynamics and influence its binding rates. Since the hydration fluctuations, in turn, can be modified by the pocket’s geometry and hydrophobicity, the possibility exists to create well-controlled solvent fluctuations to steer the ligand’s binding rates. In this work, we pick up this appealing notion employing a theoretical multi-scale approach of a generic key-lock system in aqueous solution. We explore the influence of the physicochemical properties of the pocket on local ligand diffusivities and binding rates and demonstrate how the orientation of a (non-spherical) ligand couples to a pocket’s hydration fluctuations. We find that minor modulation in pocket depth can drastically speed up the binding rate and that, concurrently, binding to molded binding sites is advantageous for the rotational dynamics of the ligand. The results and discussion of this work shall, therefore, imply generic design principles for tailored solutions of functional host-guest systems as well as optimized drugs in biomedical applications.