Very large swelling in hybrid frameworks:: A combined computational and powder diffraction study

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 (similar to 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 angstrom 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.