03 Fakultät Chemie

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/4

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Designing covalent organic framework‐based light‐driven microswimmers toward therapeutic applications
    (2023) Sridhar, Varun; Yildiz, Erdost; Rodríguez‐Camargo, Andrés; Lyu, Xianglong; Yao, Liang; Wrede, Paul; Aghakhani, Amirreza; Akolpoglu, Birgul M.; Podjaski, Filip; Lotsch, Bettina V.; Sitti, Metin
    While micromachines with tailored functionalities enable therapeutic applications in biological environments, their controlled motion and targeted drug delivery in biological media require sophisticated designs for practical applications. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a new generation of crystalline and nanoporous polymers, offer new perspectives for light‐driven microswimmers in heterogeneous biological environments including intraocular fluids, thus setting the stage for biomedical applications such as retinal drug delivery. Two different types of COFs, uniformly spherical TABP‐PDA‐COF sub‐micrometer particles and texturally nanoporous, micrometer‐sized TpAzo‐COF particles are described and compared as light‐driven microrobots. They can be used as highly efficient visible‐light‐driven drug carriers in aqueous ionic and cellular media. Their absorption ranging down to red light enables phototaxis even in deeper and viscous biological media, while the organic nature of COFs ensures their biocompatibility. Their inherently porous structures with ≈2.6  and ≈3.4 nm pores, and large surface areas allow for targeted and efficient drug loading even for insoluble drugs, which can be released on demand. Additionally, indocyanine green (ICG) dye loading in the pores enables photoacoustic imaging, optical coherence tomography, and hyperthermia in operando conditions. This real‐time visualization of the drug‐loaded COF microswimmers enables unique insights into the action of photoactive porous drug carriers for therapeutic applications.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Shedding light on the active species in a cobalt‐based covalent organic framework for the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction
    (2024) Hosseini, Pouya; Rodríguez‐Camargo, Andrés; Jiang, Yiqun; Zhang, Siyuan; Scheu, Christina; Yao, Liang; Lotsch, Bettina V.; Tschulik, Kristina
    While considerable efforts have been devoted to developing functionalized covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as oxygen evolution electrocatalysts in recent years, studies related to the investigation of the true catalytically active species for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remain lacking in the field. In this work, the active species of a cobalt‐functionalized COF (TpBpy‐Co) is studied as electrochemical OER catalyst through a series of electrochemical measurements and post‐electrolysis characterizations. These results suggest that cobalt oxide‐based nanoparticles are formed in TpBpy‐Co from Co(II) ions coordinated to the COF backbone when exposing TpBpy‐Co to alkaline media, and these newly formed nanoparticles serve as the primary active species for oxygen evolution. The study thus emphasizes that caution is warranted when assessing the catalytic activity of COF electrocatalysts, as the pristine COF may act as the pre‐catalyst, with the active species forming only under catalyst operating conditions. Specifically, strong coordination between COFs and metal centers under electrochemical operation conditions is crucial to avoid unintended transformation of COF electrocatalysts. This work thus contributes to the rational development of earth‐abundant COF OER catalysts for the production of green hydrogen from renewable resources.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Elucidating the structure and the impact of synthesis methods on the flexibility of the metal‐organic framework MIL‐88 A (Fe) during water capture
    (2025) Manitz, Timo; Heck, Fabian; Rezeki, Sri; Gjorgjevikj, Kristina; Tokuda, Shun; Bette, Sebastian; Canossa, Stefano; Leistenschneider, Desirée; Krause, Simon
    Flexible metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a new generation of porous materials and are considered for various applications such as sensing, water or gas capture, and water purification. MIL-88 A (Fe) is one of the earliest and most researched flexible MOFs, but to date, there is a lack in the structural aspects that govern its dynamic behaviour. Here, we report the first crystal structure of DMF‐solvated MIL-88 A and investigate the impact of real structure effects on the dynamic behaviour of MIL-88 A (Fe), particularly upon water adsorption. Four differently synthesized materials are studied with powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), THz Raman spectroscopy, and N2 sorption. The very high water vapor sorption capacity is probed by utilizing in situ humidity PXRD and calorimetric cycling studies. At least four different crystallographic phases are identified during the sorption measurements and a structural concept and models are developed that explain the changes in the XRD patterns. From this, it is derived that MIL-88 A (Fe) is an excellent material for a new concept of responsive water harvesting technologies.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Insights into decoupled solar energy conversion and charge storage in a 2D covalent organic framework for solar battery function
    (2025) Rath, Bibhuti Bhusan; Fuchs, Laura; Stemmler, Friedrich; Rodríguez-Camargo, Andrés; Wang, Yang; Dorfner, Maximilian F. X.; Olbrich, Johann; Slageren, Joris van; Ortmann, Frank; Lotsch, Bettina V.
    Decoupling solar energy conversion and storage in a single material offers a great advantage for off-grid applications. Herein, we disclose a two-dimensional naphthalenediimide (NDI)-based covalent organic framework (COF) exhibiting remarkable solar battery performance when used as a photoanode. Light-induced radicals are stabilized within the framework for several hours, offering on-demand charge extraction for electrical energy production. Our study reveals mechanistic insights into the long-term charge stabilization using optical spectroscopy and (photo)­electrochemical measurements, in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Among several solvents, water provides the best dielectric screening and energetically favorable proton exchange to stabilize photoinduced radicals for more than 48 h without the need for additional metal cations. This study provides fundamental insights into the optoionic charge storage mechanism in NDI-COF, while introducing a highly tunable, nanoporous material platform that surpasses related materials, such as carbon nitrides, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), or metal oxides, in terms of charge storage capacity. This study opens new perspectives for the design of optoionic charge-storing materials and the direct storage of solar energy to overcome the intermittency of solar irradiation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Mixed-length multivariate covalent organic framework for combined near-infrared photodynamic therapy and drug delivery
    (2025) Rodríguez-Camargo, Andrés; Yildiz, Erdost; Juela, Diego; Fischer, Felix Richard; Graf, Daniel; Rath, Bibhuti Bhusan; Ochsenfeld, Christian; Bauer, Matthias; Sitti, Metin; Yao, Liang; Lotsch, Bettina V.
    Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been emerging as versatile reticular materials due to their tunable structures and functionalities, enabled by precise molecular engineering at the atomic level. While the integration of multiple components into COFs has substantially expanded their structural complexity, the strategic engineering of diverse functionalities within a single framework via the random distribution of linkers with varying lengths remains largely unexplored. Here, we report a series of highly crystalline mixed-length multivariate COFs synthesized using azobenzene and bipyridine as linkers, where tuning the ratio of linkers and incorporating palladium effectively modulates the balance between near-infrared (NIR) light absorption and catalytic sites for NIR-generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Capitalizing on the deep tissue penetration of NIR light and the generated H2O2 as reactive oxygen species, as a proof of concept, the optimal mixed-length multivariate COF reduces breast cancer cell viability by almost 90% after 1 h of irradiation in a combined in vitro photodynamic therapy and drug delivery.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Identifying bottlenecks in the photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction with covalent organic frameworks
    (2025) Trenker, Stefan; Vignolo-Gonzalez, Hugo A.; Rodríguez-Camargo, Andrés; Yao, Liang; Zwijnenburg, Martijn A.; Lotsch, Bettina V.
    Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as promising semiconducting materials for photocatalytic applications due to their large surface area, high crystallinity, and vast synthetic tunability. This is especially noticeable in the context of photocatalytic water splitting, where many COFs have been employed for the hydrogen evolution half-reaction. There, sacrificial reagents typically replace the kinetically demanding oxygen evolution half-reaction. On the contrary, only few reports focus on (sacrificial) water oxidation with COF photocatalysts. In most of these cases, cobalt species are employed as oxygen evolution cocatalyst, often with limited insight into their structure and detailed role in the catalysis. Herein, we use heterogenization of a molecularly defined iridium half-sandwich complex onto a bipyridine-based COF (Ir@TAPB-BPY COF) and provide detailed structural insights ensuring the integrity of the targeted cocatalyst. First, we demonstrate the retained catalytic activity of the anchored Cp*Ir­(III) motifs in chemical water oxidation experiments. In contrast, subsequent photocatalytic and electrocatalytic tests indicate that Ir@TAPB-BPY COF does not evolve oxygen and that careful control experiments have to be conducted in order to avoid false positive results, caused for example by the sacrificial electron acceptor. Using computational methods, we trace back the missing performance to thermodynamic and kinetic limitations of the employed systems. This work demonstrates the pitfalls associated with low-performing oxygen evolution photocatalysts as well as the indispensability of control experiments and their careful evaluation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Dynamic breathing behaviour of the titanium-based metal-organic framework NTU-9 upon adsorption of water and organic solvents
    (2025) Knapp, Julia E.; Ortín-Rubio, Borja; Heck, Fabian; Gjorgjevikj, Kristina; Sleptsova, Anastasia; Krause, Simon; Bette, Sebastian; Lotsch, Bettina V.
    Understanding the structural response of framework materials to external stimuli has been of great interest. However, little is known about the stimuli responsiveness of titanium-based metal-organic frameworks. We investigate the reproducibility of the synthesis of the two-dimensional metal–organic framework NTU-9 (NTU = Nanyang Technological University) composed of Ti 4+ cations and 2,5-dihydroxyterephtalate as the organic linker and the flexible response of the framework structure to external stimuli. Using acetic acid simultaneously as mediator and solvent leads to the reproducible formation of large NTU-9 crystallites after long reaction times. The MOF synthesis in isopropanol:acetonitrile ( i -PrOH : MeCN) mixtures without a modulator is significantly faster but yields smaller NTU-9 crystallites. Pure heat treatment under ambient conditions removes a significant amount of the incorporated host solvent molecules without alteration of the framework's structure. After applying additional external stimuli ( i.e. , vacuum), the material exhibits a pore distortion by compression in the lateral dimension, depending on the synthetic procedure. The new, distorted, metastable form NTU-9-d shows a reduction in unit cell volume, pore size, and crystal symmetry. Under humidity/air exposure or solvent resuspension, the framework reverts into its original state. The synthesis conditions significantly affect the flexibility of the MOF structure, where samples synthesized without modulator showed a lower tendency for distortion. Our results emphasise the importance of an in-depth understanding of the structure–property relationships in flexible MOFs through a detailed characterisation of the material's stimuli responsiveness process.