Node Distortions in UiO-66 Inform Negative Thermal Expansion Mechanisms: Kinetic Effects, Frustration, and Lattice Hysteresis

In metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) the interplay between the dynamics of individual components and how these are constrained by the extended lattice can yield unusual emergent phenomena. For the archetypal Zr-MOF, UiO-66, we explore the cooperative dynamics of a Zr-node transformation that gives rise to negative thermal expansion (NTE). Using in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering, with powder diffraction and pair distribution function (PDF) analyses, we identify lattice hysteresis and a thermal ramp-rate-dependence of the thermal expansion. Specifically, kinetic trapping of distorted node states formed at high temperature, leads to broad variability in the apparent thermal expansion which ranges from large positive to large negative thermal expansion with coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) from +45 to −80 × 10^-6K^-1. Time-resolved relaxation studies at selected temperatures suggest that when equilibrated UiO-66 is intrinsically NTE, with a CTE of −35 × 10^-6K^-1. Kinetic trapping of the node-distorted state following high temperature activation has broad implications for characterization and applications of these Zr-MOFs; the nonequilibrium node state depends on the thermal history of the sample with quench vs slow cooling likely to impact gas binding, pore volume, and accessible catalytic sites.