Our collaborative effort with the group of Dirk De Vos and James Mayer focused on proton-coupled electron transfer in MOFs: Stoichiometric proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions of the metal–organic framework (MOF) MIL-125, Ti8O8(OH)4(bdc)6 (bdc = terephthalate), are described. In the presence of UV light and 2-propanol, MIL-125 was photoreduced to a maximum of 2(e–/H+) per Ti8 node. This stoichiometry was shown by subsequent titration of the photoreduced material with the 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenoxyl radical. This reaction occurred by PCET to give the corresponding phenol and the original, oxidized MOF. The high level of charging, and the independence of charging amount with particle size of the MOF samples, shows that the MOF was photocharged throughout the bulk and not only at the surface. NMR studies showed that the product phenol is too large to fit in the pores, so the phenoxyl reaction must have occurred at the surface. Attempts to oxidize photoreduced MIL-125 with pure electron acceptors resulted in multiple products, underscoring the importance of removing e– and H+ together. Our results require that the e– and H+ stored within the MOF architecture must both be mobile to transfer to the surface for reaction. Analogous studies on the soluble cluster Ti8O8(OOCtBu)16 support the notion that reduction occurs at the Ti8 MOF nodes and furthermore that this reduction occurs via e–/H+ (H-atom) equivalents. The soluble cluster also suggests degradation pathways for the MOFs under extended irradiation. The methods described are a facile characterization technique to study redox-active materials and should be broadly applicable to, for example, porous materials like MOFs.

With his pitch entitled "A dog's nose in your smartphones - next-generation gas sensors", Alex took home the crown in the recently concluded PhD cup in Brussels. After 2 rounds of selections, Alex won the jury's choice, besting 7 other finalists from the natural sciences and engineering, medicine and the social sciences and law domains. The PhD cup, organized by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, challenges young scientists to translate their research into a three-minute spiel, appealing and intelligible to a wide audience of different backgrounds.

Marianne Kräuter will join the Ameloot Group for a month, starting October 2018. She will learn how to make ZIF-8 from ALD-deposited ZnO using different recipes, yielding a wide array of properties. Marianne recently started her PhD at the Graz University of Technology, Austria, under the co-supervision of Prof. Anna Maria Coclite and Prof. Roland Resel.

After doing their master's thesis at the Ameloot Group, five fresh Belgian researchers join the force as PhD students. They will be carrying out research on porous materials, atomic/molecular layer deposition, 3D printing for a variety of both fundamental and applied studies. (L-R) Giel, Nathalie, Pieter and Hanne received a Master's degree in Bioscience Engineering (Catalytic Technology), while Ruben (far right) was awarded with a Master in Bionanotechnology from KU Leuven in 2018. Building from their projects in the group, they will work on developing materials for catalytic, biomedical, and environmental applications.

As part of the 2018 edition of the International PhD Academy at the Venice International University on July 9, Alex bested 16 other finalists from other universities in Asia, Europe, and North America with his poster entitled “LAB-2-FAB: molecular layer deposition of microporous crystalline networks for sustainable manufacturing”. The week-long Academy held is an interdisciplinary program of activities aimed at facilitating discussion and exchange of ideas related to sustainable energy hosted annually in Venice. The sessions gave the students an opportunity to discuss their research with students and professors working on related topics, in an international and interdisciplinary context. More information can be found here: https://www.univiu.org/viu-life/news-archive/1667-phd-academy-on-sustainable-energy

The Ameloot Group welcomes its newest team member, Martin Obst. Originally from Germany, Martin studied chemistry at the Universities of Freiberg and Jena. In 2018, he obtained his doctoral degree in Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Burkhard König at the University of Regensburg, where he worked in the development of methods for solvent-free photocatalysis and organic synthesis in deep-eutectic solvents. In the Ameloot group, Martin will focus on surface coatings with ionic liquids and deep-eutectic solvents, which will then be used for certain specialized applications e.g. catalysis.

In January 2018, the training network HYCOAT was launched which will boost Molecular Layer Deposition (MLD) technology in four key European industrial sectors, namely packaging, electronics, batteries and biomedical applications.

Priscilla Rocío-Bautista completed her Bachelor degree in Chemistry in 2012, and her Master degree in Chemistry in 2013, both at the University of La Laguna (ULL), Spain. She is currently a PhD student in analytical chemistry at the QAAMA group (https://ginqaama.webs.ull.es/index.htm), holding a FPI research fellowship (Project Ref. MAT2014-57465-R). Her research focuses on the use of metal-organic frameworks and other hybrid materials, including magnetic composites, in miniaturized devices and platforms for in situ environmental monitoring through integrated analytical microextraction approaches. During her stay in the Ameloot Group, she will study different deposition strategies of MOFs over metallic surfaces in an attempt to obtain MOF-based microextraction devices. Víctor Rubio-Giménez graduated in Chemistry at the University of València (https://www.uv.es/uvweb/college/en/university-valencia-1285845048380.html) in 2012 after an Erasmus research stay at Imperial College London (http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/long/index.html). In 2014 he obtained a master degree in Molecular Nanoscience & Nanotechnology at the University of València and then received a FPU PhD grant from the Spanish government. His current work at the UIMM (http://www.icmol.es/uimm) and Funimat (http://www.icmol.es/funimat/index.php) research teams focuses on the preparation of programmable SURMOF architectures and the study of their electronic properties. During his stay, Víctor will work exploring the fabrication of ultrathin films of electrically conductive MOFs via CVD to fabricate MOF-based electronic devices.

Max is originally from Germany and completed his doctoral degree in Physics under the supervision of Karl Leo at Technical University Dresden in 2014. His research comprised investigations on the fundamental physics of molecular doping processes in organic semiconductor thin films as employed in OLEDs, OPVs, and novel OFET structures. In particular, he has gained expertise in elucidating the electronic structure at metal/organic and organic/organic interfaces by photoemission spectroscopy (UPS/XPS). Subsequently, he moved to the Solar Center of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia), where he worked as Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Consultant under the supervision of Jean-Luc Brédas and Aram Amassian. Scientific topics comprised material characterization and interfacial studies on organometal halide perovskite, metal oxide, and organic semiconductor materials by UPS/XPS. Also, he was in charge for technical extension of the MBE/UPS/XPS setup of the Amassian’s lab. In 2016, he moved back to Dresden working with Karl Leo and Koen Vandewal on the elementary steps of electrical doping of organic semiconductors at the Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials. In the Ameloot group, Max’ PostDoc will focus on sensor development employing metal-organic frameworks in photonic crystal and ChemFET structures. Welcome Max!

Elif is the newest member of Ameloot group! Her doctoral project will be on 3D printing of porous materials for heterogeneous catalysis. Through her PhD project, the use of inkjet-based methods will be explored for the optimization of supported catalysts. Special attention will be devoted to catalysts based on ceramic supports. Apart from new experimental techniques, a methodology will be developed for the interpretation of the results through simulations. She did her MSc at Bilkent University under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Emrah Ozensoy on the dehydrogenation of formic acid to produce ultra-pure H2(g) from formic acid aqueous solutions under ambient conditions (i.e. at room temperature), in the absence of any additives and with high CO-poisoning tolerance. Under the supervision of Prof Emiel Hensen and Dr Evgeny Pidko at Eindhoven University of Technology, she worked on the evaluation of supported Platinum-Rhenium bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenation of ester, with the primary objective of making it highly efficient.