Mechanism of water adsorption in the large pore form of the gallium-based MIL-53 metal-organic framework

• Experimental study of water adsorption on Ga-MIL-53 by using TGA, DSC, XRD and FTIR.
• Effect of the initial size of the pores on the properties of adsorption of Ga-MIL-53.
• Difference in behavior between the large and narrow pore forms at low water pressure.
• Transformation of 50% of the large pore form into a narrow pore phase at 0.2 hPa.
• Characterization of successive phase transitions of Ga-MIL-53 during water adsorption.

Water adsorption in the large pore (lp_empty) form of Ga-MIL-53 was studied by TGA, DSC and in situ XRD and FTIR at 298 K. The large pore form can be stabilized at room temperature after activation under vacuum at 553 K. The isotherm of water adsorption in this large pore form (pore dimensions: 1.67 × 1.33 nm) is very similar to that measured on the narrow pore (np_empty) form (pore dimensions: 1.97 × 0.76 nm). Such a similarity is rather unusual given that the pore sizes of these two phases are very different. In order to understand the origin of this effect in situ XRD and FTIR measurements were particularly helpful. It was found that the adsorption of even small amount of water (0.05 mol per Ga atom at 0.2 hPa) in the large pore form of Ga-MIL-53 transforms ca. 50% of the solid into a narrow pore int phase, which is assumed to be present as a shell around the lp_empty core. Additional water molecules adsorbed at higher pressures do not interact with the parent lp_empty phase but with the narrow pore int phase. The phase transformations were confirmed by FTIR revealing significant band displacements in the corresponding pressure ranges. Such easy pore shrinking which occurs at very low water pressure (<0.2 hPa) can have undesirable consequences in working conditions, as for example in separation adsorption processes, because the large pore structure of Ga-MIL-53 can be preserved only under anhydrous conditions.

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