Computational and Experimental Studies on the Adsorption of CO, N₂, and CO₂ on Mg-MOF-74

Adsorption of carbon monoxide, dinitrogen, and carbon dioxide on the porous metal−organic framework Mg-MOF-74 was investigated by means of a combined methodology comprising variable-temperature infrared spectroscopy and ab initio periodic DFT-D calculations using the CRYSTAL code. Both CO and N₂ were found to form nearly linear (Mg²⁺···CO and Mg²⁺···NN) adsorption complexes, in contrast with CO₂, which forms an angular Mg²⁺···OCO complex. From IR spectra recorded at a variable-temperature, the standard adsorption enthalpy (ΔH⁰) was found to be −29, −21, and −47 kJ mol⁻¹ for CO, N₂, and CO₂, respectively. Calculated values of ΔH⁰, including an empirical correction for dispersion forces, resulted to be in a reasonably good agreement with those experimentally obtained. Calculations also showed the very significant role played by dispersion forces, which account for about one-half of the adsorption enthalpy for each of the three adsorbates, CO, N₂, and CO₂. The results are discussed in the broader context of the adsorption of the same gases on other MOFs and also on zeolites.