Synthesis and characterisation of amino acid derived frameworks

This thesis describes the synthesis and characterisation of a number of metalorganic frameworks, containing amino acids, or ligands derived from amino acids, with the aim of forming homochiral porous materials. The characterisation of two amino-acid derived coordination polymer single crystals by high-pressure crystallography is also presented. Chapter 1 gives an overview to chiral porous materials, beginning with zeotype materials, and moving on to metal-organic frameworks, highlighting the modular approach to the synthesis of these materials, allowing the production of enantiopure porous materials. Chapter 2 introduces the experimental techniques used to synthesise and characterise the materials presented within this thesis, focussing upon the crystallographic methods used to determine the structure of the materials. Chapter 3 and 4 describes the synthesis and characterisation of the new materials, highlighting the control of the formation of the structures, by adjustment of the synthetic parameters. The porosity study of a aspartic acid derived material is also presented. Chapter 5 introduces the use of high-pressure crystallography as a tool to modify the structures a nickel aspartate 1D coordination polymer, causing a cooperative rearrangement within the supramolecular bond structure, caused by the tilting of Ni octahedra within the framework.