title: Very large swelling in hybrid frameworks: a combined computational and powder diffraction study.
abstract: Using a combination of simulations and powder diffraction, we report here the study of the very large swelling of a three-dimensional nanoporous iron(III) carboxylate (MIL-88) which exhibits almost a reversible doubling (approximately 85%) of its cell volume while fully retaining its open-framework topology. The crystal structure of the open form of MIL-88 has been successfully refined and indicates that atomic displacements larger than 4 angstroms are observed when water or various alcohols are adsorbed in the porous structure, revealing an unusually flexible crystallized framework. X-ray thermodiffractometry shows that only a displacive transition occurs during the swelling phenomenon, ruling out any bond breaking.
authors.affiliation: Davy Faraday Research Laboratory, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS, UK. caroline@ri.ac.uk
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mellot-Draznieks
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serre
authors.forename: Suzy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Surblé
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Audebrand
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Férey