Open Access
Determination of hazardous vapors from the thermal decomposition of organochlorinated silica xerogels with adsorptive properties
(Elsevier, 2024) Rosales Reina, María Beatriz; Cruz Quesada, Guillermo; Pujol, Pablo; Reinoso, Santiago; Elosúa Aguado, César; Arzamendi Manterola, Gurutze; López Ramón, María Victoria; Garrido Segovia, Julián José; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The incorporation of organic groups into sol-gel silica materials is known to have a noticeable impact on the properties and structure of the resulting xerogels due to the combination of the properties inherent to the organic fragments (functionality and flexibility) with the mechanical and structural stability of the inorganic matrix. However, the reduction of the inorganic content in the materials could be detrimental to their thermal stability properties, limiting the range of their potential applications. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the thermal stability of hybrid inorganic-organic silica xerogels prepared from mixtures of tetraethoxysilane and organochlorinated triethoxysilane precursors. To this end, a series of four materials with a molar percentage of organochlorinated precursor fixed at 10%, but differing in the type of organic group (chloroalkyls varying in the alkyl-chain length and chlorophenyl), has been selected as model case study. The gases and vapors released during the thermal decomposition of the samples under N2 atmosphere have been analyzed and their components determined and quantified using a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled to a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer and to a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry unit. These analyses have allowed to identify up to three different thermal events for the pyrolysis of the organochlorinated xerogel materials and to elucidate the reaction pathways associated with such processes. These mechanisms have been found to be strongly dependent on the specific nature of the organic group.
Open Access
Thermally-triggered crystal dynamics and permanent porosity in the first heptatungstate-metalorganic three-dimensional hybrid framework
(Wiley, 2017) Martín Caballero, Jagoba; Artetxe, Beñat; Reinoso, Santiago; San Felices, Leire; Castillo, Óscar; Beobide, Garikoitz; Vilas, José Luis; Gutiérrez Zorrilla, Juan M.; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2
The hybrid compound [{Cu(cyclam)}3(W7O24)]⋅15.5 H2O (1) (cyclam=1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane) was synthesized by reacting the {Cu(cyclam)}2+ complex with a tungstate source in water at pH 8. Compound 1 exhibits an unprecedented three-dimensional covalent structure built of heptatungstate clusters linked through metalorganic complexes in a POMOF-like framework that displays water-filled channels. This dynamic architecture undergoes two sequential single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations upon thermal evacuation of water molecules to result in the partially dehydrated [{Cu(cyclam)}3(W7O24)]⋅12 H2O (2) and anhydrous [Cu(cyclam)]0.5[{Cu(cyclam)}2.5(W7O24)] (3) crystalline phases. These transitions are associated with cluster rotations and modifications in the CuII coordination geometries, which reduce the dimensionality of the original lattice to layered systems but preserving the porous nature. Phase 3 reverts to 2 upon exposure to ambient moisture, whereas the transition between 1 and 2 proved to be irreversible. The permanent microporosity of 3 was confirmed by gas sorption measurements (N2, CO2), which reveal a system of parallel channels made of wide cavities connected through narrow necks that limit the adsorption process. This observation is in good agreement with Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations.
Open Access
Immobilization of polyoxometalates on tailored polymeric surfaces
(MDPI, 2018) Aguado-Ureta, Saioa; Rodríguez-Hernández, Juan; Campo, Adolfo del; Pérez-Álvarez, Leyre; Ruiz-Rubio, Leire; Vilas, José Luis; Artetxe, Beñat; Reinoso, Santiago; Gutiérrez Zorrilla, Juan M.; Ciencias; Zientziak
Herein we describe the preparation of hybrid polymer–inorganic interfaces by the immobilization of polyoxometalate nanoclusters on functionalized polymer surfaces. The polymeric surfaces were made of polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid)/polystyrene (PS-b-PAA/PS) blends by spin coating on a silicon wafer. The functionalization of the polymer film was obtained by interfacial migration of the amphiphilic block copolymer toward the interface upon water vapor annealing. The carboxylic acid functional groups contained in the PAA block were then employed to anchor the [LnIII(α-SiW11O39)]5− polyoxometalates (Ln: Ce, Er). This purpose was achieved by immersing the films in aqueous solutions of the in situ-formed inorganic nanoclusters. X-ray photoelectron and confocal Raman spectroscopies, together with atomic force microscopy, confirmed the immobilization of the inorganic species at the interface.
Open Access
Zirconia-supported 11-molybdovanadophosphoric acid catalysts: effect of the preparation method on their catalytic activity and selectivity
(Wiley, 2018) El Bakkali, Bouchra; Trautwein, Guido; Alcañiz Monge, Juan; Reinoso, Santiago; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
The oxidation of adamantane with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by zirconia-supported 11-molybdovanadophosphoric acid is shown to be a suitable green route for the synthesis of adamantanol and adamantanone. This work evaluates how the catalyst activity and selectivity are affected by some of its preparative parameters, such as the method for supporting the catalytically active heteropoly acid over the zirconia matrix or the pretreatments applied to the resulting materials before being used as heterogeneous catalysts. Our results indicate that the most effective catalysts able to maintain their activity after several reaction runs are those prepared by following the sol-gel route, whereas the most selective catalysts are those obtained by impregnation methods. Moreover, the calcination temperature has also been identified as a relevant parameter influencing the performance of catalysts based on supported heteropoly acids. The increasing catalytic activity observed over several consecutive reaction runs has been attributed to the formation of peroxo derivatives of polyoxometalate clusters at the surface of the catalyst and their accumulation after each reaction cycle.
Open Access
Zirconia-supported tungstophosphoric heteropolyacid as heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production
(Elsevier, 2018) Alcañiz Monge, Juan; El Bakkali, Bouchra; Trautwein, Guido; Reinoso, Santiago; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
A series of materials based on the immobilization of the 12-tungstophosphoric heteropolyacid over zirconia supports have been prepared and applied as heterogeneous acid catalysts in the esterification of palmitic acid with methanol as a model reaction for the preliminary stage of the biodiesel production. The title materials have been obtained through the sol-gel method combined with a subsequent hydrothermal treatment at mild conditions, which affords catalysts with larger porosity and higher thermal and chemical stability under the esterification reaction conditions than other preparative approaches. Generating the zirconia support by hydrolysis of an alkoxyde precursor in the presence of the heteropolyacid leads to materials with homogeneously well-dispersed clusters, as well as to an increasing contribution of the tetragonal ZrO2 crystalline phase, a decreasing size of the nanoparticles and larger microporous volumes as the loading of the Keggin-type species increases. The 12-tungstophosphoric acid retains its catalytic activity in the esterification of palmitic acid with methanol at 60 °C upon immobilization over zirconia and conversions even higher than those observed under homogeneous conditions are obtained due to the active contribution of the support. The sample with a 30% mass percentage of heteropolyacid has been identified as the most efficient catalyst because it affords conversions above the 90% and shows the lower loss of activity over successive reaction runs among all of our materials. This loss of activity has been analyzed on the basis of the leaching of the catalyst and the fouling of the materials.
Open Access
Polioxometalatoak ingurune urtsuan: egitura esanguratsuenak
(Universidad de País Vasco, 2021) Ruiz-Bilbao, E.; Fernández Navarro, Leticia; Artetxe, Beñat; San-Felices, L.; Reinoso, Santiago; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2
Polioxometalatoen (POMen) konposizio eta egitura aniztasun ikaragarria, ur disoluzioan aurkezten dituzten oreka kimiko dinamikoen emaitza dira. Izan ere, beraien eraketa prozesuak ingurune azidotan gertatzen diren oxoanioien kondentsazio konplexuetan oinarrituta daude eta ondorioz, pH baldintza jakinetan zenbait metal-oxigeno kluster ezberdin daude orekan. Hortaz, POMei dagozkien topologia garrantzitsuenen ikuspegi orokorra aurkezten da lan honetan, pHaren arabera ur disoluzioan agertzen diren espezie nagusiei erreparatuz. Lehenik, ohiko iso- eta hetero-polioxobanadato, -polioxomolibdato eta ¿polioxowolframatoak aztertu dira eta bukatzeko hain konbentzionalak ez diren POM familietan jarri da arreta; hala nola, molibdato erraldoiak, uranio peroxo-klusterrak eta metal noblez osatutako egiturak..
Open Access
Thermostructural behavior in a series of lanthanide-containing polyoxotungstate hybrids with copper(II) complexes of the tetraazamacrocycle cyclam: a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation study
(American Chemical Society, 2019) Martín Caballero, Jagoba; Artetxe, Beñat; Reinoso, Santiago; San Felices, Leire; Vitoria, Pablo; Larrañaga, Aitor; Vilas, José Luis; Gutiérrez Zorrilla, Juan M.; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
A series of 14 isostructural [Cu(cyclam)](2)[{Cu(cyclam)}4{(a-GeW11O39)Ln(H2O)-(OAc)(12)].18H(2)O (1-Ln, where Ln = La Lu; cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) polyoxometalate-based hybrids reported herein represent (i) the first example of a twodimensional covalent hybrid lattice involving the [{(aXWI 1039)Ln(H2O)(OAc)}2in- archetype and (ii) the first structural characterization of such a dimeric polyoxotungste for Ln = La and Pr as well as for the combination of X = Ge and Ln = Ce, Nd, Sm, or Lu. Compounds 1-Ln have been characterized by elemental analyses, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, and their thermostructural behavior has been monitored by powder and single-crystal Xray diffraction. The title compounds undergo two single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations triggered dehydration leading to the [{Cu(cydam)}6{(alpha-GeW11O39)Ln(H2O)(OAc)}2]-4H(2)O intermediate (2-Ln, where Ln = Eu or Er) and [Cu(cyclam)]0.5[{Cu(cyclam)}55{(alpha-GeW11O39)Ln(0Ac)}2] (3-Ln, where Ln = Ce or Eu) final anhydrous phases, the latter evidencing a coordinatively unsaturated derivative of the dimeric archetype for the first time. These transitions involve formation and disruption of Cu Opom bonds that result in different {Cu(cydam)}(2+) moieties grafting onto and being released from Keggin surfaces, which reduces the dimensionality of 1-Ln to one-dimensional covalent assemblies for 2-Ln and 3-Ln. While all 3-Ln phases rehydrate fully upon exposure to air for 24 h, the kinetics governing the crystal transitions back toward 1Ln through 2-Ln depend on the nature of Ln. Under ambient moisture, the anhydrous structures fully revert back to the parent framework for Ln = La Sm, while the samples containing Eu to Lu afford mixtures of 1-Ln and 2-Ln and require immersion in water for the structural reversion to reach completion. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of the rehydrated 1R-Ln samples (Ln = Ce, Eu, and Er) support these observations.
Open Access
The effects of halogen substituents on the catalytic oxidation of benzylalcohols in the presence of dinuclear oxidovanadium(IV) complex
(Elsevier, 2017) Bikas, Rahman; Shahmoradi, Elaheh; Noshiranzadeh, Nader; Emami, Marzieh; Reinoso, Santiago; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2
A new dinuclear complex of oxidovanadium(IV), namely [(VO)2(HL)(l-O)] (1), has been synthesized by the reaction of VO(acac)2 with the heptadentate N4O3-donor Schiff base ligand, 2-(5-Bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-bis(2-(5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)ethyl)imidazolidine (H3L). The complex has been characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The latter technique revealed that the vanadium ions have distorted octahedral geometry and are connected together by oxido and phenolic oxygen atoms. The bridging oxido ligand shares the equatorial positions of the two metal centers while the oxygen atom of the bridging phenol group connects the axial positions. The catalytic activity of this complex has been tested for the oxidation of some benzyl alcohol derivatives by using H2O2 as a green oxidant. In order to maximize the yields, the effects of various influential parameters in catalytic reactions such as the oxidant-to-substrate molar ratio, the temperature and the solvent, were studied. Moreover, the electronic and steric effects of halogen substituents on the phenyl group of the substrate were also explored by analyzing the oxidation of benzyl alcohol derivatives with F, Cl and Br atoms in the relative para-position (electronic effect), and of another set of substrates with a Cl substituent in relative ortho-, meta, and para-positions (steric effect). The results of these catalytic studies show that complex 1 catalyzes the oxidation of benzyl alcohol derivatives to the corresponding benzaldehydes with little amounts of the benzoic acid being detectable in the reaction mixture. Both the reaction conditions and the substituents on the phenyl group of the benzyl alcohols affect the selectivity and the activity of this catalytic system.
Open Access
Crystal-to-crystal polymerisation of monosubstituted [PW11O39Cu(H2O)]5- Keggin-type anions
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024) Ruiz Bilbao, Estíbaliz; Pache, Aroa; Barrenechea, Unai; Reinoso, Santiago; San Felices, Leire; Vivanco, Maria dM.; Lezama, Luis; Artetxe, Beñat; Gutiérrez Zorrilla, Juan M.; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2
The reaction between neutral bis(picolinate)copper(ii) complexes and copper(ii)-monosubstituted Keggin-type phosphotungstate anions formed in situ leads to the formation of the hybrid [C(NH2)3]10[{PW11O39Cu(H2O)}2{Cu(pic)2}]·10H2O compound (1, pic = picolinate) in the presence of structure-directing guanidinium cations. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that 1 contains dimeric {PW11O39Cu(H2O)}2{Cu(pic)2} molecular species constituted by two Keggin-type anions linked by one {Cu(pic)2} octahedral complex through axial coordination to their terminal oxygen atoms. The extensive hydrogen-bonding network established by guanidium cations and Keggin clusters plays a key role in retaining the crystallinity of the system throughout dehydration to allow a single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformation into the anhydrous [C(NH2)3]10[{PW11O39Cu}2{Cu(pic)2}] (2a) at 170 °C. Structural modifications involve the re-orientation, shifting in ca. 1.5 Å and condensation of all the {PW11O39Cu} units to result in {PW11O39Cu}n chains in an unprecedented solid-state polymerisation. This phase transition also implies the cleavage of Cu-O bonds induced by the rotation and translation of Keggin-type anions, in such a way that hybrid dimeric units in 1 are dismantled and {Cu(pic)2} complexes become square planar. The irreversibility of the phase transition has been confirmed by combined thermal and diffractometric analyses, which evidence that the anhydrous phase adsorbs only one water molecule per cluster to become the [C(NH2)3]10[{PW11O39Cu}2{Cu(pic)2}]·2H2O (2h) hydrated derivative without any significant alteration in its cell parameters, nor in its crystalline structure. Phase transformations have been monitored by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Open Access
Tuning the sensitivity of photonic sensors toward alkanes through the textural properties of hybrid xerogel coatings
(Wiley, 2025-01-15) Rosales Reina, María Beatriz; López Torres, Diego; Cruz Quesada, Guillermo; Espinal Viguri, Maialen; Elosúa Aguado, César; Reinoso, Santiago; Garrido Segovia, Julián José; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
This work exemplifies how incorporating organosilane modifiers into silica matrices allows for tuning the optical response of reflection photonic sensors through customizing the textural properties of hybrid xerogel sensing films. Xerogels with propyl molar percentages 0, 5, and 10% are used to construct photonic probes (OFS0pTEOS, OFS5pTEOS and OFS10pTEOS, respectively) by dip-coating upon optimizing film deposition parameters. The time response of these probes toward a battery of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprising species with different functionality, size-shape, and polarity is systematically analyzed through ON/OFF experiments, revealing that a low propyl content makes the poor-responding OFS0pTEOS film highly sensitive toward non-aromatic, large molecules with low-polar or non-polar character in OFS5pTEOS. This sensor is particularly sensitive toward alkanes, with globular cyclohexane (cyHex) outperforming elongated n-hexane. Variable-temperature calibration curves obtained from step-by-step experiments and adsorption-desorption cycles corroborate these observations and allow hysteresis to be quantified. The response to cyHex closely follows VOC concentration changes with the most stable signal among analytes, leading to well-defined curves with low-to-negligible hysteresis. The isosteric enthalpies of cyHex adsorption are obtained for both the bulk material and the sensor, demonstrating labile adsorbate-adsorbent interactions ruling the sensor response and becoming more exothermic for larger VOC concentrations.