Water and ethanol desorption in the flexible metal organic frameworks, MIL-53 (Cr, Fe), investigated by complex impedance spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.

The breathing behaviour of MIL-53(Cr) and MIL-53(Fe) upon water and ethanol desorption has been investigated by combining complementary experimental techniques including ThermoGravimetry Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Complex Impedance Spectroscopy (CIS). It was shown that two stages of solvent departure are involved in the desorption process, as revealed by (i) a change of the weight loss gradient in the TGA curve, (ii) the existence of a second endothermic peak in the DSC signal and (iii) a sudden drop and/or profile change of the ac conductivity in CIS. All these features are observed around a typical temperature T(c), for which the framework contractions, caused by the solvent desorption, occur. Moreover, it is shown that these modifications are more pronounced when the magnitude of the breathing is higher, as illustrated by the comparison of the water/MIL-53(Cr), ethanol/MIL-53(Cr) and water/MIL-53(Fe) systems. CIS data were further analyzed in the light of DFT calculations which provided the preferential arrangements of the molecules within the pores and the resulting host/guest interactions. It could then be proposed that (i) the polarization conductivity results from the local re-orientation of the μ(2)-OH dipoles bonded to the metal atom from the hybrid solid, i.e. Fe or Cr, and (ii) that dc conductivity, which can be ascribed to a proton propagation via a Grotthus mechanism, is favoured when the solvent molecules form strong hydrogen bonds between each other.