Abstract
This paper reports on a systematic method – called PLUXter – developed for screening and data mining of large numbers of potential metal-organic framework compounds that have been synthesized then subsequently analyzed with high throughput synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction. The first part of the method utilizes principal components analysis (PCA), which allows materials to be ranked in order of crystallinity so that undesirable amorphous materials may be identified and eliminated. The second part allows structural grouping within and between samples to be observed using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Classification using a single linkage distance produced unsatisfactory clusters however the dendrograms structural relationships were used to establish and guide the boundaries of groups. The resultant grouping identities allowed further structure-property studies to be undertaken on representative structures from the clusters, significantly reducing time and the use of resources.
Keywords: Hierarchical cluster analysis, principal components analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, metal-organic frameworks, synchrotron radiation, radiation powder X-ray diffraction, SR-PXRD, MOFs, XRD, high-throughput instrumentation, HT-SR-PXRD, diethylformamide, KNIME, FWHM, multivariate data analysis, PLUXter, Australian Synchrotron
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