The functional and mechanical properties of a material are often determined by the defects in them. A thorough understanding of the relationship between the defects and the properties allows for tailoring a material’s properties into the desired combinations. Amongst the different classes of defects, experimental identification of point defects is typically difficult and indirect, usually requiring an ingenious combination of different techniques. In this context, first-principles calculations, complemented with experiments, offer insights into the formation of defects and their role in properties. This was demonstrated in this thesis through investigations on the effect of calcium vacancies on structure, vibrational and elastic properties hydroxyapatite (HAp), and oxygen vacancies on elastic properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Our results confirm a considerable reduction in the elastic constants of HAp—the inorganic constituent of bone—due to Ca-deficiency, which was experimentally reported earlier. Elastic anisotropic behavior of stoichiometric and Ca-deficient HAp is analyzed, which will be useful in understanding the effects of crystal orientation in designing synthetic bone. Local structural stability of HAp and Ca-deficient HAp structures is assessed with full phonon dispersion studies and the specific signatures in the computed vibrational spectra for Ca deficiency in HAp can be utilized in experimental characterization of different types of defected HAp. In ZnO, formation energies of oxygen vacancies in different types of oxygen deficient structures are analyzed to ascertain their stability. Our results show considerable degradation of some of the elastic moduli due to the presence of such vacancies. Further, the charge state of the defect structure is found to influence the shear elastic constants. Evaluation of elastic anisotropy of stoichiometric and oxygen deficient ZnO indicates the significant anisotropy in elastic properties and stiff c-axis orientation. The second part of the thesis deals with developing some understanding of the pressure-induced phase transformations (PIPT) in an inorganic material, titanium nitride (TiN), and in a metal-organic framework (MOF), erbium formate crystal. PIPT, which is a common phenomenon in many materials, is of great interest in materials science as the properties of the transformation product can diverge significantly from those of the parent phase. Hence, it is important to understand the pressure induced changes so to improve the component reliability and to enhance service life of materials used in high pressure applications. TiN undergoes PIPT from NaCl to CsCl structure. On the basis of our DFT calculations, we propose a new transformation path, which shows that the stress required for this transformation is substantially lower when it is deviatoric in nature than that under hydrostatic pressure. Local stability of the structure is assessed with phonon dispersion determined at different pressures, and we find that CsCl structure of TiN is expected to distort after the transformation. Further, we provide a quantitative comparison of electronic structure of TiN in NaCl structure with that of high pressure phase with implication to electrical conduction properties. Next, we investigate the PIPT associated with bond rearrangement in erbium formate framework. Phase transition pressure is estimated and the corresponding changes in bonding characteristics are analyzed. Estimated lattice constants for both the phases agree well with the earlier experimental results. While the transformation pressure of the framework is overestimated with respect to experiment, our calculations confirm PIPT, and thus provide a theoretical evidence for the experimental finding.

The past few decades have witnessed an almost exponential increase in interest in the field of metal organic frameworks (MOFs), which can be evidenced from the large number of scientific articles being published routinely in this area. The MOFs are crystalline hybrid materials built via the judicial use of inorganic metal ions and organic linkers, thereby bridging the gap between purely inorganic and organic materials. The structural versatility and the potential tunability of the MOFs imparts unique physicochemical and thermomechanical properties, which have rendered them immensely useful in the branches of chemistry, material science, physics, biology, nanotechnology, medicine as well as environmental engineering. The MOFs have been shown to be promising as materials for gas storage and separation, sensors, ferroelectric and non-linear optical materials, magnetism, catalysis, drug delivery etc and researchers have been devising strategies to utilize the MOFs to tackle a number of global challenges of the twenty-first century. A survey of the literature reveals that the linear organic linkers, 1,4- benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC) and 4,4’-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (BPDC), have been the organic linkers of choice for the construction of stable, porous and multifunctional MOFs. The aim of this thesis has been to monitor the effect that the presence of a functional group in between the benzene rings of the BPDC would have on the overall structures and the properties of the MOFs. Thus, as part of the investigations, the preparation of the MOF compounds using 4,4’-sulfonyldibenzoic acid (SDBA) and 4,4’- azodibenzoic acid (ABA) have been accomplished. Along with the conventional hydrothermal and solvothermal synthetic techniques, the liquid-liquid biphasic reaction method was also utilized for the synthesis of some of the compounds. The structures of the compounds were ascertained from single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Proton conductivity studies were performed on Mn based porous MOFs using AC impedance spectroscopy. The ferroelectric behavior in a Co based porous MOF was established using dielectric and polarization vs electric field measurements. The labile nature of the lattice solvent molecules was established utilizing single crystal X-ray diffraction studies and water sorption experiments. In addition, the site selective substitution in a homometallic MOF and the subsequent conversion to a mixed-metal spinel oxide upon thermal decomposition, have also been studied. Chapter 1 of the thesis is a brief overview of the metal organic framework compounds and summarizes the various important structures that have been reported in literature and the interesting properties that they exhibit. In chapter 2, the proton conductivity behavior, solvent mediated single crystal to single crystal (SCSC) and related structural transformations in a family of Mn and Co based porous MOFs with SDBA have been presented. Also presented are the results of the site selective substitution of Mn by Co in a homometallic Mn based MOF and it’s subsequent decomposition to CoMn2O4 spinel oxide nanoparticles. In chapter 3, the syntheses, structures and the magnetic properties of the pentanuclear Mn5 based MOF compounds with SDBA have been presented. The role of the time and the temperature in the formation of the compounds has also been presented. In chapter 4, the dehydration/rehydration mediated switchable room temperature ferroelectric behavior, the single crystal to single crystal solvent exchange studies and selective gas sorption behavior in an anionic Co based MOF with SDBA has been discussed. In chapter 5, the use of the liquid-liquid biphasic synthetic route in the formation of Zn and Cd based MOFs with ABA has been discussed. Structural transformations between the one dimensional Zn based compounds and the heterogeneous catalytic studies using the Cd based compounds have also been presented.

Ce travail théorique vise à étudier, via les méthodes Premiers Principes, les propriétés des complexes de métaux de transitions, left[Mleft(dmbpyright)_{3}right]^{n+}nCi^{-} pour un usage en batterie. Pour cette étude ab-initio, les composés mono et bi-nucléaires ont été retenus. La pertinance de notre modélisation a été validée sur les composés mononucléaires. Nous nous sommes interessé au complexes de Fe, Ru et Cu pour lesquels une validation expérimentale était possible. Notre étude a principalement consisté à faire varier les degrés de liberté que nous possédons pour optimiser le voltage et la cinétique de chargement des batteries. Pour cela, nous avons fait varier le TM = Fe, Ru, et Cu, la nature des contre-ions Ci^{-}=PF_{6}^{-}, TFSI^{-} et ClO_{4}^{-} en interaction avec le polymère lors du processus de charge, ainsi que la longeur de la chaîne alkyl qui sépare les deux monomers dans le cas des composés binucléaires. Le composé à base de Fe avec une chaîne -left(CH_{2}right)_{n=6}- a été retenu comme le meilleur candidat pour une application batterie. Le composé à base Ru montre un comportement proche de celui du Fe, quant-au complexe de Cu, il présente des changements de géométrie locale sous chargement trop importants, le rendant peu apte à conduire à une cinétique efficace. Cette étude nous a permis de déterminer que l'approximation PBE était le meilleur choix possible pour modéliser nos complexes dans les conditions de fonctionnement en batterie (dans le champ créé par les contre-ions) et que l'approximation PBE0, généralement utilisée dans la littérature, ne pouvait rendre compte de la physico-chimie de nos composés dans de telles conditions.De surcroît, nous avons dévelopé pour le complexe de Fe, un potentiel atomistique de type “Champ de forces” de manière à pouvoir aborder les aspects dynamiques impliquant de plus grandes tailles de boîte de simulation. Ici, nous modélisons une structure 3D, totalement réticulée à partir de nos monomères à base de Fe. Nous nous sommes servi de la base de donnés DFT que nous avions généré (énergies, géométries, état de spin et fréquences vibrationnelles calculées) pour ajuster les paramètres entrant dans l'écriture du modèle. La construction de la géométrie initiale du polymère 3D a nécessité l'écriture d'un code de calcul visant à produire un arrangement complétement réticulé et à assigner les charges effectives issues des calculs DFT. Ce modèle nous a permis de déterminer les coefficients de diffusion des contre-ions pour les états totalement chargé et non-chargé. Un calcul plus ambitieux vise à déterminer les chemins de diffusion des contre-ions lors d'un processus de chargement en considérant un seul centre de degré d'oxydation 3+ au centre du polymère 3D, pour lequel les centres actifs possèdent un degré d'oxidation 2+. Les contre-ions assurent la neutralité globale.Keyword: Polymer, Electrochemistry, Li-ion Battery, DFT, Force Field development, 3D structure, Atomistic modeling / Abstract Standard redox potentials for mono and bi-nuclear transition metal (TM) complexes left[Mleft(dmbpyright)_{3}right]^{n+}nCi^{-}, have been investigated using First Principles Calculation. Three metal centers are investigated: Fe, Ru, and Cu. Our modeling is validated on mono-nuclear compounds. This approach consists in determining the best small polymer (bi-nuclear) made out of these monomers for a battery application. For that, we varied the three available degrees of freedom i.e., the nature of the central TM atom (Fe, Ru, and Cu), counter-ions Ci=PF_{6}^{-}, TFSI^{-} and ClO_{4}^{-} in interaction with the polymer, and the alkyl chain -left(CH_{2}right)_{n}- of length n that connects both mono-nuclear in the bi-nuclear compound. The Iron compound with -left(CH_{2}right)_{n=6}- is found to be the best candidate. The left[Culeft(dmbpyright)_{2}right]^{n+}nCi^{-} complex shows too much structure deformation upon loading, making it less reliable for cathode material. Moreover, we studied two XC functional, PBE and PBE0 and found, for three complexes PBE approximation retains the ligand field picture whereas PBE0 functional induces an exaggerated and unexpected band dispersion by dissolving the ligand field picture expected for the octahedral environment of the TM in the studied complexes. These findings validate that hybrid functional for which it was designed to localize and cancel self-interaction error does not work for all system. More particularly, the PBE0 approximation fails to model the three complexes (Fe, Ru, and Cu) in functional conditions (in the field made by the counter-ions).Abstract Further, we have developed an atomistic potential relying on the Force Field scheme for the Iron complex in order to study the dynamical properties of this compound at larger simulation scale (3D reticulated polymerization made of our Fe complex monomers). We made an intensive use of our DFT data (energies, geometries, spin-state configurations and calculated vibrational properties) to develop the required parameters entering the model. Moreover, computational techniques (written python language) were developed specifically to create a 3D structure of transition metal complexes satisfying the condition to be fully reticulated. Bounding conditions had to be designed and a procedure aiming at fixing reliable and physical effective charges on each atom of the simulation cell (compatible with DFT results) were developed. Our first simulations have been attached to calculate the diffusion coefficients of the counter-ions in both the fully loaded and unloaded states. A more ambitious and realistic calculation aims at investigating the paths of the counter-ions when one single center starts to be loaded in an unloaded environment.Abstract Keyword: Polymer, Electrochemistry, Li-ion Battery, DFT, Force Field development, 3D structure, Atomistic modeling

No description available.

A flexible Metal–Organic Framework Zn4O(BenzTB)3/2 (DUT-13) was obtained by combination of a tetratopic linker and Zn4O6+ as connector. The material has a corundum topology and shows the highest pore volume among flexible MOFs. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

A modular approach for the synthesis of highly ordered porous and chiral auxiliary (Evans auxiliary) decorated metal–organic frameworks is developed. Our synthesis strategy, which uses known porous structures as model materials for incorporation of chirality via linker modification, can provide access to a wide range of porous materials suitable for enantioselective separation and catalysis. Chiral analogues of UMCM-1 have been synthesized and investigated for the enantioseparation of chiral compounds in the liquid phase and first promising results are reported. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

DUT-8(Ni) metal–organic framework (MOF) belongs to the family of flexible pillared layer materials. The desolvated framework can be obtained in the open pore form (op) or in the closed pore form (cp), depending on the crystal size regime. In the present work, we report on the behaviour of desolvated DUT-8(Ni) at elevated temperatures. For both, op and cp variants, heating causes a structural transition, leading to a new, crystalline compound, containing two interpenetrated networks. The state of the framework before transition (op vs. cp) influences the transition temperature: the small particles of the op phase transform at significantly lower temperature in comparison to the macroparticles of the cp phase, transforming close to the decomposition temperature. The new compound, confined closed pore phase (ccp), was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques, such as IR, EXAFS, and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). Thermal effects of structural transitions were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), showing an overall exothermic effect of the process, involving bond breaking and reformation. Theoretical calculations reveal the energetics, driving the observed temperature induced phase transition.

The United Nations have set a number of sustainability goals, Agenda 2030, in order to combat the worlds largest challenges and injustices. The energy market is one of these urgent issues which must be solved. Solar energy is expected to be the fastest growing energy source in the future energy mix. It can be a great way to provide zero emission energy and also become a key part in equality as it can provide energy to people who live off the grid today and raise quality of life all over the world. The aim of this study is to compare different ligands in a copper halide complex to conclude what structural properties of the ligand might be better suited for photoluminescent applications, and especially in solar cells. Eight ligands were chosen for the complexes depending on their level of conjugation: 4,4’-bipyridine, tri(o-tolyl)phosphine, 3,6-di-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine, pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, phenanthroline, and 2,2’-bipyridine. A series of analytical methods were used to compare the complexes properties; X-Ray diffraction, emission and excitation spectroscopy, time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, microscopy and thermochromism. From these measurements, pyridine and pyrimidine proved to have the greatest potential for working in a solar cell. This was deduced because of the detected crystallinity, having luminescence under UV-light, forming distinct wavelength peaks during excitation and emission in the flourometer, having the longest excited state lifetime and and finally, emitting distinctive colours during thermochromism. When creating the solar cell, pyridine was chosen as ligand due to higher availability than pyrimidine. The method used in this project for making the solar cell is directly applied form a previously tested method, but which was designed for another type of electron donor. This project compared the different ways of applying the copper halide complex on to the cell. The methods used were spin-coating and SILAR for creating the copper iodide thin film and vapour diffusion and immersion to introduce the ligand. These four methods were combined systematically for all combinations. The solar cells were then put in a solar simulator where voltage, current, efficiency and fill factor was measured. The best results came form the solar cell where spin coating and immersion was used, though the overall efficiency of the created cells were low. Copper halide complexes in previous studies have been proven to be reactive with oxygen and the experiments in this project were not carried out in an inert environment. This could have had significant impact on the measurements, as reactions between the complexes and oxygen may have resulted in oxidation and thus inactivation of the complexes. Therefore, it would be interesting to conduct the syntheses again but instead in an inert environment to determine whether oxygen made a major impact on the measurements. In further studies, it would also be worthwhile to investigate how the different layers of the solar cell would have to be adapted for this particular complex to obtain higher efficiency and voltage. Also, making thin film of pyrimidine to be used in a solar cell as it showed the attributes required for a solar cell. Furthermore, it would be interesting to use derivatives of pyrimidine, such as uracil and cytosine which are abundant in nature, as they might be more sustainable choices. This is due to their inherent biodegradability and not posing a threat to either health or environment when handled.

A highly effective electrocatalyst is the central component of advanced electrochemical energy conversion. Recently, two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) have emerged as a class of promising electrocatalysts due to their advantages including 2D layered structure with high in-plane conjugation, intrinsic electrical conductivity, permanent pores, large surface area, chemical stability, and structural diversity. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of 2D c-MOF electrocatalysts for electrochemical energy conversion. Firstly, we introduce the chemical design principles and synthetic strategies of the reported 2D c-MOFs, as well as the functional design for the electrocatalysis. Subsequently, we present the representative 2D c-MOF electrocatalysts in various electrochemical reactions, such as hydrogen/oxygen evolution, and reduction reactions of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. We highlight the strategies for the structural design and property tuning of 2D c-MOF electrocatalysts to boost the catalytic performance, and offer our perspectives in regard to the challenges to be overcome.

Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Promotionsschrift werden Strategien zur Erzeugung von Linkermolekülen beschrieben, die geeignet sind, um als Bauelemente für sogenannte \"Metal-Organic rameworks\" (MOF) eingesetzt zu werden. Diese Stoffe bestehen aus einem organischen \"Linker\"-Teil, welcher die Metalleinheiten (\"Sekundäre Baueinheit\", SBU) miteinander verbindet, und dadurch die Entstehung von dreidimensionalen porösen Netzwerken ermöglicht. Dieses Projekt wurde an der Universität Leipzig in der Arbeitsgruppe von Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins am Institut für Anorganische Chemie durchgeführt. Seit den frühen neunziger Jahren genießen MOFs großes Interesse aufgrund ihrer besonderen Eigenschaften als Festkörper mit wohldefinierter und permanenter Porosität. In der Einleitung dieser Promotionsschrift werden das Anwendungspotential oder bereits existierende Anwendungen für MOFs und verwandte poröse Feststoffe näher beschrieben. Mögliche Anwendungsgebiete sind unter anderem Gasspeicherung, Trennverfahren, zur Katalyse, in der Medizin und für Detektoren in der analytischen Chemie. Die Auswahl der organischen Baueinheiten für die Synthese von MOFs richtet sich nach Kriterien wie z.B. thermischer Stabilität, Geometrie der koordinierenden Einheiten, Rigidität des Linkermoleküls. Weiterhin können potentielle sekundäre Effekte berücksichtigt werden, z.B. Eignung für katalytische Prozesse, Ladungspufferung oder Lichtsammelvermögen. Alle Linker enthalten aromatische Einheiten; es werden Anthracen, Binaphthyl (verkörpert durch chirale BINAPO-Einheiten), Biphenyl, Pyren und Perylen als Mittelstück des Linkers eingesetzt. Die Promotionsschrift beleuchtet auch in einem Streifblick die Geschichte, das Vorkommen, mögliche Anwendungen und Giftigkeit von Molekülen mit polycyclischen aromatischen Kohlenwasserstoffgruppen. Die Synthese der Linker wurde mittels der folgenden Route realisiert: Bromierung der aromatischen Bestandteile und Anfügen von Endstücken (\"capper\") - welche die koordinierenden Einheiten enthalten - durch die Suzuki-Miyaura-Kupplung. Die Syntheserouten für den bromierten aromatischen Mittelteil des Linkers, die Boronsäuren und die vollständigen Linker, werden im experimentellen Teil beschrieben, und die erhaltenen Linker werden charakterisiert. Für den anorganischen Teil des MOF wurden außerdem ausgewählte komplexe Einheiten erzeugt, die als Startmaterialien für den sogenannten \"controlled SBU approach\" (CSA) dienen. Bei dieser Methode wird eine Baueinheit erzeugt, die der gewünschten eigentlichen Baueinheit im fertiggestellten MOF ähnlich ist und dann als Präkursor in der Synthese eingesetzt wird. Verschiedene Ansätze zur Erzeugung von MOFs wurden ausgeführt: Langsame Diffusion in Flüssigkeiten oder Gelen und vor allem Tempern der organischen und anorganischen Baueinheiten oder Startmaterialien in einem Lösungsmittel, teilweise unter solvothermalen Bedingungen. Mehrere Polymere wurden in einer zur Röntgenstrukturbestimmung geeigneten kristallinen Form erhalten. Die Strukturen werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit präsentiert und diskutiert. Ein Ausblick auf weiterführende Untersuchungen an diesen Verbindungen wird ebenfalls gegeben. / Abstract This thesis describes approaches to obtain linker molecules that are suitable to build a so-called \"metal-organic framework\", MOF (or porous coordination polymer, PCP). These materials consist of an organic linker part that connects the metal units, \"secondary building units\" (SBU), with each other to form threedimensional, hollow networks. This project was performed at the University of Leipzig in the multinational workgroup of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins, at the Faculty for Inorganic Chemistry. These MOF materials have gained a lot of interest since the early 1990s for their special properties as solid materials with a well-defined, permanent porosity. The introductory part of this thesis elaborates potential or already current usage of MOF materials and related porous solids, such as gas storage, separation processes, catalysis, medical use and use in analytic detection. The choice of organic building blocks for the synthesis of MOFs followed certain criteria, such as thermal stability, geometry of coordinating units, rigidity of the linker molecule, and potential secondary effects such as suitability for catalytic purposes, charge buffering or light harvesting. All linkers feature aromatic units, and among the cores are moieties like anthracene, binaphthyl (represented by the chiral BINAP), biphenyl, pyrene and perylene. A glance is thrown on the history, occurrence, possible use and potential toxicity of molecules with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon moieties. Synthesis of the linkers is implemented by use of brominations of the aromatic core units and attaching capper units - carrying the coordinating units - by means of Suzuki-Miyaura-coupling. The synthesis routes to these molecules, brominated aromatic core, boronic acids and finished linkers, are described in the experimental part. The obtained linkers are characterised and described. Furthermore, selected complex units for the inorganic part of a potential MOF were created as starting materials for a so-called \"controlled SBU approach\" (CSA); wherein a building block, very similar to the desired unit in the final framework, is prepared and then used as a precursor in the synthesis. Various attempts at the generation of MOFs were conducted: Slow diffusion in liquids or gels, and, especially, reactions by tempering the organic and inorganic building blocks or starting materials in a solvent - partially also under solvothermal conditions. Several polymers were obtained in crystalline form, suitable for structure determination by X-ray crystallography. These structures are presented and discussed in this work, as well as the further research on these solids and the results being achieved.