Two researchers from the Institute of Chemical Research, Dr Carolina Carrillo-Carrión and Dr Juan Carlos Muñoz García, have led a study on the controlled formation and characterisation of zirconium-based metal-organic gels (MOGs), key aspects for the rational design of new MOGs with defined properties for various applications (catalysis, gas adsorption, molecular separation, energy storage, sensing, or drug release).

The work, published in the prestigious journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, demonstrates that the formation of zirconium MOGs is possible under mild and biocompatible conditions and allows the in-situ encapsulation of biomolecules with therapeutic properties.

The study also describes, for the first time, the in-situ formation of these gels at the molecular level by monitoring the structuring of the water present in the medium (in small proportion) through the combination of two approaches based on NMR spectroscopy that enable real-time monitoring of gelator-solvent interactions. This, in addition, showed a very good correlation with macroscopic properties of these materials such as viscosity, crystalline domain size, and the amount of coordinated water.

Title: Insights into the Controlled Formation of Zr-Based Metal–Organic Gels: Linking Macroscopic Properties with Molecular Information from Solution State NMR

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202520987

Authors: Juan C. Muñoz-García,* Francisco G. Moscoso, Elena M. Sánchez-Fernández, Jenifer Santos, Jesús Angulo y Carolina Carrillo-Carrión*

Magazine: Angewandte Chemie International Edition