Science · Science, 2024
Merging nets: a wider design language
A map from basic nets to multicomponent structures.
The question
Can the design of structures with several kinds of building unit be made as systematic as the design of single-net frameworks?
What was done
A merged-net approach: a signature net map identifies pairs of nets that can be merged, and a design algorithm turns each pair into a target structure.
What the paper reports
By mapping node–net relationships among 53 basic edge-transitive nets, the authors enumerated 53 merged nets and proposed more than 100 multicomponent MOF platforms. They report the synthesis of four classes of materials, built by merging three-periodic nets with the four possible net periodicities.
What remains open
An enumeration is a map, not a material. Which of the proposed platforms are stable, synthesizable and useful remains to be shown.
- Paper
- Jiang, H.; Benzaria, S.; Alsadun, N.; Jia, J.; Czaban-Józwiak, J.; Guillerm, V.; Shkurenko, A.; Thiam, Z.; Bonneau, M.; Maka, V. K.; Chen, Z.; Ameur, Z. O.; O’Keeffe, M.; Eddaoudi, M. Merged-nets enumeration for the systematic design of multicomponent reticular structures. Science 386, 659–666 (2024).
- Credited
- Hao Jiang, Salma Benzaria, Norah Alsadun and colleagues, with Michael O’Keeffe and Mohamed Eddaoudi.
- Link
- doi.org/10.1126/science.ads7866