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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 21h

Oh, very consciously. My reaction was entirely “Well this stuff’s not going to give me a single crystal, which was the point of the experiment. It just means I’m going have to put more reactions on now.” ‘Flowers’ of crystals are always frustrating that way. Derek’s crystal, on the other hand… Wow!

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 22h

I got in trouble on Twitter a while ago because I didn’t find some flawed clusters of crystals that looked like flowers particularly pretty because, well, all I saw were flawed clusters of crystals.

Now THIS is pretty…

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 22h

Richard would always pop into the lab to see how our reactions were going. He’d take anything that was promising across to the door to the sunlight to peer at it with a hand lens, followed by “I think you’ve got useable crystals there, Stuart”.

I think you’ve got useable crystals there, Derek.

Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:

Bright green transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with copper and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed blocky roughly rectangular pieces with some very large emerald-like chunks.

Pink/red transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed as a mixture of long rectangular types and aggregated chunks.

Purple transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with cobalt and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed long slightly blocky needles.

Clear transparent metal-organic framework crystals prepared with zirconium and a “multipronged” carboxylic acid ligand. The crystals formed chunky hexagons.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 22h

😍

Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 4d

Here’s one of those copper MOF crystals mounted on an x-ray diffraction loop sample holder:

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Reposted by Stuart Batten

Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun in the lab than when I was making MOFs myself (and trying to use them for small-molecule X-ray structure determination). So let me celebrate by posting a few of the MOF crystals I prepared:

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 1d

I wasn't planning on going, but I'm seriously reconsidering that now, given the recent events. Might be a bit of a buzz about the place.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, I just realised that I've actually published with two of the three 2025 Nobel Prize winners. How did this not occur to me before? Should I try for the complete set?

CrystEngComm @crystengcomm.rsc.org · 3d

🧪 "MOFs" or "Coordination Polymers"? Interested in the terminology behind this year's Chemistry #NobelPrize? Read this paper by Lars Öhrström, with coworkers including winner Susumu Kitagawa. Cited in the Scientific Background to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025: doi.org/10.1039/C2CE...

Coordination polymers, metal–organic frameworks and the need for terminology guidelines

Coordination polymers (CPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are among the most prolific research areas of inorganic chemistry and crystal engineering in the last 15 years, and yet it still seems t...

doi.org

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Reposted by Stuart Batten

Chemjobber @chemjobber.bsky.social · 2d

I flippin' love that they chose a picture of arrow pushing

#chemsky 🧪⚗️

Katrina Miller @katrinamillerphd.bsky.social · 2d

three cheers for slow science, each Nobel representing decades of inquiry that paved the way for the technology, treatments, & toys of tomorrow:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/s...

Nobel Prizes This Year Offer Three Cheers for Slow Science

www.nytimes.com

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Thankfully it wasn't a wider shot, showing only 4 students in the tute. On the day after your tutor won a Nobel Prize! Sheesh.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

To me the conceptual leap represented by the design principles to make these deliberately, reliably and controllably are as important a component of the Prize worthiness as the actual materials. A strategy for controlling how the component atoms and molecules assemble into a solid was revolutionary.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Fascinating - I need to have a closer look at that when I have some time. Of course, the very first artificial coordination compound was a coordination polymer - Prussian Blue, discovered accidentally in 1706 (I think). Though the 'organic' bit of 'MOF' doesn't quite work.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

I must have missed this one. Very, very cool stuff (as MORFs are in general).

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Say what? Lol. Thanks - that gives me a bit of a smile for the end of the week.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

I and many others will be on the panel for this, so do tune in. It will be 1am Saturday morning Australian time, so it will be a challenge for us #ozchem panelists, but it should be an interesting chat after a whirlwind few days.

Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 3d

Have you signed up to watch our webinar yet? This Friday, we'll welcome a handful of experts to join us at 3pm BST for an exciting and spontaneous webinar. If chemistry is your thing, you will not want to miss this!

Nobel prize in chemistry 2025: Reaction

Join us for an exclusive look at the Nobel in chemistry 2025 prize-winning science - make sure you're there on 10 October

www.chemistryworld.com

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Hard to have a big ego in Australia. I mentioned to my hairdresser that my old boss just won the #NobelPrize. "Oh, that's nice", then proceeded to talk about much more important things, like how they weren't very busy, the weather, looks like a lot of folk will be gardening this weekend. 😂

Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Geez, it's so old that there's no nice graphical abstract picture to pop up on the link.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

Here's my first "MOF" paper. Of course, we didn't call them MOFs then, and it's not porous. But it is cited in the MOF Nobel scientific press release, so I guess that counts.

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

3D Knitting patterns. Two independent, interpenetrating rutile-related infinite frameworks in the structure of Zn[C(CN)3]2

The structure of Zn[C(CN)] consists of two independent infinite rutile-related frameworks whose compiex entanglement resembles 3D knitting.

pubs.rsc.org

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

#MOFcake !!

Rosie Young @rosieyoung.bsky.social · 2d

It didn't collapse overnight! Some defects were introduced, which will probably result in peak broadening in the PXRD. Also a passivation surface layer has been added and surface absorbed atoms

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 2d

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Reposted by Stuart Batten

Tim Schmidt @schmidtim.bsky.social · 3d

#chemnobel #chemsky #ozchem

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Reposted by Stuart Batten

Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 4d

This year's Nobel - commentary and background, with a few more bonus MOF pictures of my own:

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Metal-Organic Frameworks

www.science.org

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 3d

I know the feeling. Last night was crazy (I spoke to swedish radio, which is just straight Looney Tunes) and the next couple of days are going to be just as weird.

Totally worth it.

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 4d

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 4d

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Stuart Batten @sbattenresearch.bsky.social · 4d

Snap! So do I!

Sorry - it's been a crazy evening. I think I need to go to bed...

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