Michael Katz

Was solving a structure the other day and superflip claimed it was P b c a. You can see all the connectivity with an 80+% Rvalue from the primary solution. Systematic absences show its P b c m (or P b c 21 of course). 9% without hydrogen atoms. Always learning and looking at my systematic absences.

Giant thank you to @barryblight.bsky.social from UNB for coming out to @memorialfutureu.bsky.social to give two seminars in the chemistry department. Only one snow storm delay and a few of my bad puns to contend with. Thanks Barry!

Finally got to them at my in-laws. Loved them! The kids did too.

Just ordered two!

Ordered two. One for my kids and one for my nephew.

Being a chemist has its advantages. I’m currently making monster spray to keep the monsters away from my daughter’s room. One part water (cold), five parts noise from the kitchen. Yield: 1 sleeping toddler.

Nice to See MOFs getting their shine. With that said, please think about contributing to a special MOF issue of @materialsadvances.rsc.org curated by @chemashlee.bsky.social, @majikatz.bsky.social, and myself.
blogs.rsc.org/jm/2025/10/2...

Influence of Charge Compensating Anions on the Adsorption of Perfluorobutanesulfonate in MOF-808 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c05815

I haven’t used Difrac in a while but you bet I have a manual somewhere on an old computer.

I did my PhD on this. It’s a Mo source with a point detector. I learned a lot by working on it. I may also have been the last person to use it (ca. 2010). I bet I could get it started and collecting the ruby standard.

Visited the old stomping grounds with the fam today @sfuscience.bsky.social

I’m super excited to give this talk. I remember my first day in front of a cad 4 point detector and I’m looking forward to many more (but on an area detector).

Malvern Panalytical visited Memorial last week. They brought a few instruments and a lot of scientific discussions with Micromeritics and SciAps. It was great. Thankyou!

Comp chem MOF peeps: any Mac/PC software available for the lay person to get surface area, pore size, etc from a CIF file? Asking for a friend (mostly).

This is what my lab thinks is a good April fools joke. It almost got me. The timing was perfect as we just replaced a valve and turned it back on.

Thesis formatting is a big task. Microsoft Word has a lot of features that can help, but it’s hard to figure out what to google/AI sometimes. I keep a list of ways to address these formatting challenges. Hope this helps :)

katzresearchgroup.com/Thesis.html

My mom just texted me about Dan Shechtman’s Nobel prize. She knew him when she first started at the Technion and didn’t realize he won the prize. It’s a small world. I wonder if he remembers my mom.

I assume that it will find the higher symmetry. But the diffraction patterns symmetry is suggesting the smaller P cell. I see no evidence of correlated parameters that would indicate the lower symmetry cell is wrong.

Unit cell is the P cell of the F cell. So the metrics are different but that’s just because it’s a smaller unit cell when it becomes P. I am
Personally leaning to polymorphs but I feel like it needs a subclass (symmetry polymorphs?).

No packing difference. I overlayed the unit cells for the two forms (after figuring out how the orientations relate) and they are identical. It could be some pore solvent that is harder to see that’s causing the symmetry changes.

Is it a polymorph if the connectivity (or topology) is identical but it’s a different unit cell (not just different lengths)?

2H‐NMR as a Practical Tool for Following MOF Formation: A Case Study of UiO‐66 Developing the mechanism for MOF formation is crucial for the rapid development of new materials. This work demonstrates that Deuterium-NMR spectroscopy is the optimal inter-laboratory methodology fo...

First paper of the year is out. We set out to better understand how MOFs form in solution. 2H-NMR of d4-BDC is the way to go. Huge effort by Amanda to get this sorted out. Congratulations!
@memorialu.bsky.social, #MOFs

doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Has anyone ever made a cloud chamber and if so, then is there a downside to acrylic over glass?

Point 506 Clothing & Art Science & Math inspired clothing. Focusing on the intersection of art and science and incorporating sacred geometry. Geeky T-shirts. Math T-shirts. Nerdy Shirts. Scientist Tshirts. Science Gifts.

If anyone is looking for cool science shirts, then check out www.point506.com. I have a few shirts from them and they are great.

This week had two students do their comps and a student do their final MSc presentation. I’m amazed at how hard the students work and I’m so grateful to my amazing colleagues for engaging with the students on all fronts.

Pore Perfection vs Defect Design: Examining the Complex Relationship between Pore Structure and Carbon Dioxide Adsorption in Zr-Based MOFs This work examines the relationship between defects, pore size, and pore functionalization as it pertains to the enthalpy of adsorption between carbon dioxide and zirconium-based metal–organic frameworks (UiO-66 and UiO-67). When UiO-66 is synthesized without defects, carbon dioxide adsorption is more exothermic relative to when UiO-66 contains defects (−24.3 vs −20.9 kJ/mol). We repeated the experiments with pristine/defective UiO-67 and observed the opposite trend (−16.9 vs −21 kJ/mol), albeit less exothermic. With the exception of defective UiO-66, which had no change in the enthalpy of adsorption, dehydrating the cluster of pristine/defective UiO-66 (−21 kJ/mol) and UiO-67 (−14 kJ/mol) produced materials that were less exothermic upon carbon dioxide adsorption. This work indicates that there is a hierarchy of adsorption interactions that can work independently or in tandem to increase the enthalpy of adsorption. These include the small tetrahedral pore of UiO-66, hydrogen bonding, and dispersion interaction enhanced by the electron-withdrawing Zr(IV). Postsynthetic modification of the node with methanol/methoxy groups had a strong effect on the defect containing UiO-66. In this MOF, the pore sizes appeared nearly identical to the pristine UiO-66 and contained an enthalpy adsorption of −28 kJ/mol; this is the highest value obtained in this work.

Happy to share that our latest manuscript is online. If you ever wanted to know what makes UiOs tick for CO2 adsorption and were afraid to ask, then don’t worry cause we did. Work is funded by NSERC, MITACS, and the government of NL.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Only a few days left to apply.

The CSC Inorganic Division has made it to Bluesky!

The Chemistry Department at Memorial is hiring a chemist. Come be my colleague. I’m not on the search committee, but if you have questions, then I’ll do my best to answer them.

sciences-m.academickeys.com/job/8zo3uhms...

New paper from the group: a covid and lab move special by Craig with assists from Rodney, Amanda, and Gauthaman. Work was funded by NSERC, CFI, Mitacs, and a DND supplement.