Metal-organic material (MOF) based glasses are a new class of materials that combine the functional properties of MOF-compounds worthy of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry- with the amorphous and processable structure of glass, representing an innovative field in materials science.
Until now, creating certain glass used in advanced technology required a complicated intermediate step: starting with crystalline structures and then melting and cooling them. But an international scientific team, led by the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), located in the scientific-academic area of the University of Valencia Science Park (PCUV), has found a much more direct way. Using the organic component itself as a means of reaction and eliminating the more aggressive conditions of the traditional method, it has succeeded in synthesizing a new type of transparent and versatile glass, without passing through the crystal.
This new method makes it possible to work with metals which are particularly difficult to handle, such as iron, and results in pure materials resistant to degradation. The researchers called these materials dg-MUV-29 and have shown that they can adapt their composition by incorporating different molecules, which multiplies their potential.
"These new glasses have exceptional magnetic and optical properties, which makes them ideal candidates for cutting-edge applications in electronics, intelligent sensors or sustainable energy technologies," said Guillermo Mínguez, director of the Crystal Engineering Lab (CEL) group of the ICMol and Principal Investigator of the project
"Our approach not only simplifies synthesis, but also opens the door to working with metals that were previously unviable, such as iron. This considerably widens the range of functional materials available, as it allows to explore compositions hitherto inaccessible", explains Guillermo Mínguez, director of the group Crystal Engineering Lab (CEL) of ICMol and Principal Investigator of the project. "These new glasses have exceptional magnetic and optical properties, making them ideal candidates for cutting-edge applications in electronics, intelligent sensors or sustainable energy technologies," adds the scientist.
What is truly innovative is that this clean process allows the magnetic properties of these materials to be studied in detail, something which until now has been extremely complex. The team has also succeeded in developing and integrating these molecular glasses into optoelectronic devices, paving the way for their future application in advanced electronics systems, intelligent sensors and sustainable energy technologies. "The possibility of manufacturing these glasses directly and using them in real devices is a paradigm shift in the design of functional materials," highlights Luis León, first author of the work. "This approach not only facilitates their production, but also demonstrates their technological feasibility, opening new paths for the development of high-performance optical and magnetic materials".
"The possibility of manufacturing these glasses directly and using them in real devices is a paradigm shift in the design of functional materials", Luis León, ICMol researcher and first author of the work
The breakthrough, according to the article published in Nature Communications, opens the door to a new generation of smart glasses that could transform how energy is stored, design new electronic devices or manufacture highly sensitive sensors.
In addition to the University of Valencia, the work involves the Institut Laue-Langevin of Grenoble (France), the Rutherford Appelton Laboratory of Oxfordshire (UK), the University of Nottingham (UK) and the University of Lisbon.
Source: UV News