Additionally, as the pore environment is nominally 'dry' after MOF activation, any water present is expected to be in low concentration, and thus with a reduced hydrogen bonding network. Therefore, the observed peak position between that of fully solvated liquid water (0 ppm) and that of isolated gaseous water (-36.1 ppm), is consistent with that of a partially solvated species. Thirdly, the high hydrophilicity of cyclodextrin ligand and the suggestion of previous binding energy calculations that the presence of H 2 O plays a key role in stabilising CO 2 binding 16 further supports the mechanistic involvement of H 2 O species.