Nature has circumvented the science: in the corner of Yakutia has found unique minerals

Thanks to the joint studies of Russian and canadian specialists in coal of Yakutia discovered a unique mineral zhemchuzhnikova and Stepanovic belonging to a number of metal-organic frameworks, previously to the invention of the human genius.

Unique materials the Siberian coal were discovered by the Soviet scientist in the 60-ies of the last century. But only now, thanks to the efforts of Russian and canadian specialists able to ascertain their structure. The discoverers zhemchuzhnikova and Stepanovich was able to determine its composition, but was unable to determine its structure. If they did — science even then could jump forward 30 years, scientists say. As it turned out, contained in coal the minerals belong to the metal-organic frameworks – they are composed of many hydrocarbon threads, braided in a kind of «snowflakes» and «honeycomb», which are metal ions combined with water molecules.

The so-called «metal-organic frameworks» are now widely used to create filters that can capture carbon dioxide or hydrogen and retain huge amounts of these gases. Deposits of such minerals in Yakutia is a unique place on the planet. In the work of canadian scientists helped the Russian geologists – Igor Pekov and Sergey Krivovichev. They were able to find new samples of minerals in mines Tullah and Chay-Tumus in Yakutia. The canadian researchers plan to continue the search for natural versions of the IOC and I hope to find in Siberia even more interesting natural minerals.

Nature has circumvented the science: in the corner of Yakutia has found unique minerals 06.08.2016

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an increasingly important family of advanced materials based on open, nanometer-scale metal-organic architectures, whose design and synthesis are based on the directed assembly of carefully designed subunits. We now demonstrate an unexpected link between mineralogy and MOF chemistry by discovering that the rare organic minerals stepanovite and zhemchuzhnikovite exhibit structures found in well-established magnetic and proton-conducting metal oxalate MOFs. Structures of stepanovite and zhemchuzhnikovite, exhibiting almost nanometer-wide and guest-filled apertures and channels, respectively, change the perspective of MOFs as exclusively artificial materials and represent, so far, unique examples of open framework architectures in organic minerals.