Hydrogen storage is a developing technology that can be used as an energy vector for sustainable energy applications such as fuel cells for transport applications or for supplying power to the grid in moments of high demand. However, before hydrogen can be used as a practical energy vector, hydrogen storage issues, such as low gravimetric storage density, need to be addressed. One possible solution could be using nanoporous materials to physically adsorb hydrogen at low temperatures and moderate pressures. Hydrogen adsorption excess isotherms in solid-state porous materials can be obtained experimentally. However, the total amount stored in them, a quantity of more practical interest, cannot be measured by experimental techniques. Therefore, a model developed at the University of Bath is used to predict the total amount of hydrogen contained in nanoporous materials from their experimentally derived excess isotherm data. According to inelastic neutron scattering experiments (TOSCA, ISIS, RAL, Oxfordshire), solid-like hydrogen is likely to exist within the pores. The model is applied in this work in order to search for relationships between intrinsic properties of the materials (BET surface area, pore volume and pore size) and the predicted total hydrogen capacity of the materials. The model assumes adsorbed hydrogen at a constant density within the pore (defined as the absolute), also taking bulk hydrogen in the pore (amount that is not considered to be adsorbed by the adsorbent), into account. Several MOF datasets have been used to search for these relations, since they are the materials that have the highest hydrogen uptake in solid-state adsorption. Different MOFs and MOF families have been tested in order to widen the range of the correlations. Also, different strategies, such as fixing the pore volume when applying the fittings, relying on experimental data, or using high pressure hydrogen isotherm data to increase the robustness of the model have been researched. These MOFs have been either synthesized and characterized at the University of Bath or their datasets obtained from literature. Some of these MOFs with zeolitic structure exhibited unreported flexibility, being their structures further characterized. Changes on accessible pore size for hydrogen storage were also investigated using C60 in IRMOF-1. The final aim of this work is to find possible correlations between BET surface area, pore volume and pore size to find out what the values of these parameters have to be in a specific material to fulfil the DOE hydrogen storage requirements.

abstract: The large-scale anthropogenic emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere leads to many unintended consequences, from rising sea levels to ocean acidification. While a clean energy infrastructure is growing, mid-term strategies that are compatible with the current infrastructure should be developed. Carbon capture and storage in fossil-fuel power plants is one way to avoid our current gigaton-scale emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, for this to be possible, separation techniques are necessary to remove the nitrogen from air before combustion or from the flue gas after combustion. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of porous material that show great promise for adsorptive separation processes. Here, potential mechanisms of O2/N2 separation and CO2/N2 separation are explored. First, a logical categorization of potential adsorptive separation mechanisms in MOFs is outlined by comparing existing data with previously studied materials. Size-selective adsorptive separation is investigated for both gas systems using molecular simulations. A correlation between size-selective equilibrium adsorptive separation capabilities and pore diameter is established in materials with complex pore distributions. A method of generating mobile extra-framework cations which drastically increase adsorptive selectivity toward nitrogen over oxygen via electrostatic interactions is explored through experiments and simulations. Finally, deposition of redox-active ferrocene molecules into systematically generated defects is shown to be an effective method of increasing selectivity towards oxygen. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Chemical Engineering 2019

Design of targeted functional solid-state materials for desired applications remains a scientific challenge. To overcome this hurdle, numerous synthetic strategies have been devised. It has been shown that molecules and/or clusters with pre-selected shapes, molecular building blocks (MBBs), can be utilized as units of chemical construction toward a final structure composed of those units. Typically, in metal-organic structures metal-ligand directed assembly of the MBBs, via coordination chemistry in situ, leads to the final structure. The strength of the MBB formed and, consequently, the overall rigidity of the framework are essential in their use as porous materials for applications. Lack of rigidity, i.e. instability, will ultimately lead to the collapse of the open framework upon evacuation, resulting in inaccessible pores. This phenomenon has been demonstrated repeatedly in labile metal-organic materials (MOMs) constructed via flaccid metal-nitrogen coordination (MNx) between nitrogen-based ligands and metal ions. The structures of simple metal-carboxylate clusters are welldocumented, but only recently have they been targeted for the construction of MOMs. They often possess multiple metal-oxygen coordination bonds (M(CO2)x) that result in the generation of rigid nodes with fixed geometry. Our research group has utilized heterofunctional organic linkers, taking advantage of both pyridine- and carboxylate-based functions (MNy(CO2)z), which has allowed the construction of single-metal-ion-based MBBs resulting in stabile, rigid MOMs with targeted topologies. In this dissertation, I will discuss our single-metal-ion-based design strategy and the utilization of heterofunctional ligands for MNy(CO2)z coordination of single-metal ions. I have employed this strategy to specifically target threeconnected MOMs from 3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate and MNy(CO2)z coordination of various single-metal ions, especially chiral framworks such as (10,3)-a. In addition, I have explored the MOM diversity that can be obtained via various ligand modifications, including isomerism, expansion, and functionalization. I also will show that other heterofunctional ligands can be utilized to target novel MOMs, specifically via M(CO)y(CO2)z coordination, and, resultantly, I have achieved metal-ligand directed organic synthesis and mixed-metal MOMs with magnetic tunability. I have also explored applications for MOMs, including H2 storage, and studied the barriers to rotation of the H2 molecules inside MOMs using inelastic neutron scattering to better understand the MOM-H2 interactions.

Since the 1960s, many formal languages have been developed in order to allow software engineers to specify conceptual models and to design software artifacts. A few of these languages, such as the Unified Modeling Language (UML), have become widely used standards. They employ notations and concepts that are not readily understood by "domain experts," who understand the actual problem domain and are responsible for finding solutions to problems.The Object Management Group (OMG) developed the Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Rules (SBVR) specification as a first step towards providing a language to support the specification of "business vocabularies and rules." The function of SBVR is to capture business concepts and business rules in languages that are close enough to ordinary language, so that business experts can read and write them, and formal enough to capture the intended semantics and present them in a form that is suitable for engineering the automation of the rules.The ultimate goal of business rules approaches is to build software systems directly from vocabularies and rules. One way of reaching this goal, within the context of model-driven architecture (MDA), is to transform SBVR models into UML models. OMG also notes the need for a reverse engineering transformation between UML schemas and SBVR vocabularies and rules in order to validate UML schemas. This thesis proposes an automatic approach to translation between UML schemas and SBVR vocabularies and rules, and vice versa. It consists of the application of a new generic schema translation approach to the particular case of UML and SBVR.The main contribution of the generic approach is the extensive use of object-oriented concepts in the definition of translation mappings, particularly the use of operations (and their refinements) and invariants, both formalized in the Object Constraint Language (OCL). Translation mappings can be used to check that two schemas are translations of each other, and to translate one into the other, in either direction. Translation mappings are declaratively defined by means of preconditions, postconditions and invariants, and they can be implemented in any suitable language. The approach leverages the object-oriented constructs embedded in Meta Object Facility (MOF) metaschemas to achieve the goals of object-oriented software development in the schema translation problem.The generic schema translation approach and its application to UML schemas and SBVR vocabularies and rules is fully implemented in the UML-based Specification Environment (USE) tool and validated by a case study based on the conceptual schema of the Digital Bibliography & Library Project (DBLP) system.

Hydrogen is an appealing energy carrier for clean energy use. However, storage of hydrogen is still the main bottleneck for the realization of an energy economy based on hydrogen. Many materials with outstanding properties have been synthesized with the aim to store enough amount of hydrogen under ambient conditions. Such efforts need guidance from material science, which includes predictive theoretical tools. Carbon nanotubes were considered as promising candidates for hydrogen storage applications, but later on it was found to be unable to store enough amounts of hydrogen under ambient conditions. New arrangements of carbon nanotubes were constructed and hydrogen sorption properties were investigated using state-of-the-art simulation methods. The simulations indicate outstanding total hydrogen uptake (up to 19.0 wt.% at 77 K and 5.52wt.% at 300 K), which makes these materials excellent candidates for storage applications. This reopens the carbon route to superior materials for a hydrogen-based economy. Zeolite imidazolate frameworks are subclass of MOFs with an exceptional chemical and thermal stability. The hydrogen adsorption in ZIFs was investigated as a function of network geometry and organic linker exchange. Ab initio calculations performed at the MP2 level to obtain correct interaction energies between hydrogen molecules and the ZIF framework. Subsequently, GCMC simulations are carried out to obtain the hydrogen uptake of ZIFs at different thermodynamic conditions. The best of these materials (ZIF-8) is found to be able to store up to 5 wt.% at 77 K and high pressure. We expected possible improvement of hydrogen capacity of ZIFs by substituting the metal atom (Zn 2+) in the structure by lighter elements such as B or Li. Therefore, we investigated the energy landscape of LiB(IM)4 polymorphs in detail and analyzed their hydrogen storage capacities. The structure with the fau topology was shown to be one of the best materials for hydrogen storage. Its total hydrogen uptake at 77 K and 100 bar amounts to 7.8 wt.% comparable to the total uptake reported of MOF-177 (10 wt.%), which is a benchmark material for high pressure and low temperature H2 adsorption. Covalent organic frameworks are new class of nanoporous materials constructed solely from light elements (C, H, B, and O). The number of adsorption sites as well as the strength of adsorption are essential prerequisites for hydrogen storage in porous materials because they determine the storage capacity and the operational conditions. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, no experimental data are available on the position of preferential H2 adsorption sites in COFs. Molecular dynamics simulations were applied to determine the position of preferential hydrogen sites in COFs. Our results demonstrate that H2 molecule adsorbed at low temperature in seven different adsorption sites in COFs. The calculated adsorption energies are about 3 kJ/mol, comparable to that found for MOF systems. The gravimetric uptake for COF-108 reached 4.17 wt.% at room temperature and 100 bar, which makes this class of materials promising for hydrogen storage applications.

Computer simulations of metal-organic frameworks are conducted to both investigate the mechanism of hydrogen sorption and to elucidate a detailed, molecular-level understanding of the physical interactions that can lead to successful material design strategies. To this end, important intermolecular interactions are identified and individually parameterized to yield a highly accurate representation of the potential energy landscape. Polarization, one such interaction found to play a significant role in H 2 sorption, is included explicitly for the first time in simulations of metal-organic frameworks. Permanent electrostatics are usually accounted for by means of an approximate fit to model compounds. The application of this method to simulations involving metal-organic frameworks introduces several substantial problems that are characterized in this work. To circumvent this, a method is developed and tested in which atomic point partial charges are computed more directly, fit to the fully periodic electrostatic potential. In this manner, long-range electrostatics are explicitly accounted for via Ewald summation. Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations are conducted employing the force field parameterization developed here. Several of the major findings of this work are: Polarization is found to play a critical role in determining the overall structure of H 2 sorbed in metal-organic frameworks, although not always the determining factor in uptake. The parameterization of atomic point charges by means of a fit to the periodic electrostatic potential is a robust, efficient method and consistently results in a reliable description of Coulombic interactions without introducing ambiguity associated with other procedures. After careful development of both hydrogen and framework potential energy functions, quantitatively accurate results have been obtained. Such predictive accuracy will aid greatly in the rational, iterative design cycle between experimental and theoretical groups that are attempting to design metal-organic frameworks for a variety of purposes, including H 2 sorption and CO2 sequestration.

The design and synthesis of novel functional materials with fine-tunable physical and chemical properties has been an aspiration of materials scientists since at least Feynman's famous speech "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" which has fittingly been credited with ushering in the nanotechnology era. Crystal engineering, as the solid-state manifestation of supramolecular chemistry, is well positioned to make substantial contributions to this worthwhile endeavor. Within the realm of crystal engineering resides the subdiscipline of metal-organic materials (MOMs) which pertains most simplistically to the coordination bond and includes such objects as coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and discrete architectures, each of which share the common aspect that they are designed to be modular in nature. While metal-organic materials have been studied for quite some time, only recently have they enjoyed an explosion in significance and popularity, with much of this increased attention being attributed to two realizations; that this inherent modularity ultimately results in an almost overwhealming degree of diversity and subsequently, that this diversity can give rise to effective control of the properties of functional materials. At long last the goal of attaining fine-tunablity may be within our grasp. In addition to high levels of diversity, MOMs are also characterized by a broad range of complexity, both in their overall structures and in the nature of their constituents. From the simplest molecular polygons to extended 3-periodic frameworks of unprecedented topologies, MOMs have the capacity to adopt an array of structural complexities. Moreover, there has been a recent trend of increasing complexity of the very building blocks that construct the framework. It is the aim of the research presented in this dissertation to survey these two principle aspects of MOMs, diversity and complexity, by focusing upon the use of polycarboxylates and first row transition metals to synthesize several series of closely related materials imbued with varied levels of complexity. Through the use of single crystal X-ray diffraction and the charcterization of the materials' properties, the structure-function relationship has been probed. Finally, novel design strategies incorporating supermolecular building blocks for the creation of a new generation of MOMs has been addressed.

In this paper, the method is proposed for transforming UML class diagrams with OCL constraints to relational database schemas, having advantages over “UML Profile for Databases” models. The proposed method consists of two phases supplementing each other: metamodel based transformations and pattern-based transformations. All transformations are based on OMG official standards or RFPs (Request for Proposals) and are prepared for use in MDA (Model Driven Architecture) context. This means, that resulting models, created using the described method, are long-lasting, independent from platform and abstract enough to be independent from technology. This work covers analysis of the field of object – relational transformations, analysis of support of OCL in currently used UML tools, transformation rule sets of metamodel transformations and pattern-based transformations, a lot of examples illustrating every transformation. Metamodel transformations are designed to transform object models written in UML language to corresponding relational models: types, classes, attributes, association classes, associations to tables, columns, foreign keys and other concepts. Pattern-based transformations are designed for generating static relational concepts such as check constraints, views, stored procedures and triggers. Using the two described transformation types and the whole method described, one can generate full-fledged relational database schemas, have precise UML models and keep much more... [to full text]

In this work the magnesium, zinc, nickel and cobalt MOFs of the MOF-74 isostructural family are used to probe metal-dependent adsorbate interactions with water and with carbon monoxide because of their ability to generate open metal sites upon activation. An isostructural family is used so that the only variable from one MOF to another is the metal incorporated into the framework. For water adsorption isotherms with humidities up to 90%, the observed trend at 298K and 1 bar is Mg-MOF-74 > Zn-MOF-74 > Co-MOF-74 > Ni-MOF-74. This observed trend is due to Lewis acid-base interactions. When the weight effect is removed, differences are still observed, especially below 40% relative humidity, thereby confirming that there is a metal effect. These studies revealed that PXRD alone cannot indicate the level of structural decomposition and that none of the four isostructures fully retain their structural integrity on exposure to humidified air because of microstrain and/or the presence of oxygen; more studies examining the extent of structural decomposition need to be undertaken. For carbon monoxide adsorption the general observed trend for P < 4 bar and temperatures of 298, 313 and 333K is Co-MOF-74 > Ni-MOF-74 > Zn-MOF-74 > Mg-MOF-74. This trend is based on π-backbonding interactions. Here again, differences remain after removal of the weight effect, confirming the metal dependence. Notably, Co-MOF-74 has the highest CO loading at 298K and 1 bar reported so far. Both the Toth and Virial Isotherms were used to fit the CO adsorption data followed by the use of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to find the isosteric heats of adsorption, qst. The results from the Toth isotherm are more reliable and showed that qst remains constant as loading increases for Mg-MOF-74, decreases for Zn-MOF-74 and increases with loading for Co-MOF-74 and Ni-MOF-74; Ni-MOF-74 had the highest heat of adsorption at all loadings. It appears that using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to calculate qst is an inappropriate method for Ni-MOF-74 so other methods such as calorimetry are recommended. It is also recommended to model the data of all the MOFs with other isotherm models such as Sips equation and to investigate the possibility of chemisorption for the cobalt and nickel isostructures. Finally, Henry’s constant results reveal that Ni-MOF-74 has the highest affinity for CO at low coverages.

Mercury is one of the most serious heavy metal pollution sources that threaten people’s health. For decades, people have developed many technologies and materials to capture mercury from flue gas of coal-fired plant. Currently, the most effective material for mercury absorption is powdered activated carbon, which shows increased efficiency when modified with halogen functional groups such as bromine. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have potential applications in mercury capture due to their fantastic properties such as high porosity and high thermal stability. More important, their pore sizes and topology structures can be controlled through choosing different organic ligands in the syntheses. However, their mercury removal properties have not been studied so far. In this project, mercury absorption properties of selected known porous MOFs were studied, and the syntheses of new porous MOFs with functional groups for mercury absorption were investigated. Three known porous MOFs for mercury sorption properties were investigated. One of these MOFs, compound 3 shows a total efficiency greater than 90% in laboratory scale tests. Moreover, three new MOFs: [Cu(Br2BDC)2](HTEA)2 ， [Co2(BrBDC)(HCOO)2(DMF)2] and Zn2(BrBDC)(Trz)2•3H2O, (BrBDC = 2,5- dibromoterepthalicate, DMF =dimethylformamide, TEA = trimethylamine, Trz=1,2,4-triazole) were synthesized successfully. The first two compounds have two-dimensional structures, while the last compound contains three-dimensional channels with opening over 4.7 Å.