Flexibility of ZIF-8 materials studied using 129Xe NMR

Structural changes in a porous hybrid inorganic–organic ZIF-8 compound have been explored using hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR of adsorbed xenon at various temperatures. Upon xenon adsorption at low temperature, the organic linkers undergo a reorientation leading to a stepwise increase in xenon adsorption and in chemical shift.