Dependence of adsorption-induced structural transition on framework structure of porous coordination polymers

Porous coordination polymers (PCPs) with soft frameworks show a gate phenomenon consisting of an abrupt structural transition induced by adsorption of guest molecules. To understand the dependence of the gating behavior on the host framework structure, we conduct grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and a free-energy analysis of a simplified model of a stacked-layer PCP. The interlayer width of the rigid layers composing the simplified model can be changed by guest adsorption and by varying the initial interlayer width h(0), which is controlled by the length of pillars between the layers. We introduce three types of gating behavior, one-step gating, filling and gating, and double gating, which depend on three parameters: the initial interlayer width h(0); the interaction parameter epsilon(ss), which determines the host-guest framework interaction as well as the inter-framework interaction; and the elastic modulus of the framework, which depends on the stiffness of the pillars. We show that the one-step gating and the filling and gating behaviors depend strongly on h(0) rather than on epsilon(ss), and thus a transformation from filling and gating to double gating can be achieved by reducing the stiffness of the host framework. This study should be a guideline for controlling the gating pressure of PCPs by modifying their chemical components. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.