Article abstract
Nature Chemistry 1, 289 - 294 (2009)
Published online: 22 June 2009 | doi:10.1038/nchem.254
Subject Categories: Materials chemistry | Inorganic chemistry
Chemically blockable transformation and ultraselective low-pressure gas adsorption in a non-porous metal organic framework
Bo Xiao1, Peter J. Byrne1, Paul S. Wheatley1, David S. Wragg1, Xuebo Zhao2, Ashleigh J. Fletcher2, K. Mark Thomas2, Lars Peters3, John S. O. Evans3, John E. Warren4, Wuzong Zhou1 & Russell E. Morris1
Abstract
Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are among the most exciting materials discovered recently, attracting particular attention for their gas-adsorption and -storage properties. Certain MOFs show considerable structural flexibility in response to various stimuli. Although there are several examples of 'breathing' MOFs, in which structural changes occur without any bond breaking, examples of transformations in which several bonds are broken and made are much rarer. In this paper we demonstrate how a flexible MOF, Cu2(OH)(C8H3O7S)(H2O)
2H2O, can be synthesized by careful choice of the organic linker ligand. The flexibility can be controlled by addition of a supplementary coordinating molecule, which increases the thermal stability of the solid sufficiently for direct imaging with electron microscopy to be possible. We also demonstrate that the MOF shows unprecedented low-pressure selectivity towards nitric oxide through a coordination-driven gating mechanism. The chemical control over these behaviours offers new possibilities for the synthesis of MOFs with unusual and potentially exploitable properties.
- EaStChem School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, Purdie Building, St Andrews KY16 9ST, UK
- Northern Carbon Research Laboratories, Sir Joseph Swan Institute and School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Material, Bedson Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
- Department of Chemistry, University of Durham Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- Synchrotron Radiation Source, Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD, UK
Correspondence to: Russell E. Morris1 e-mail: rem1@st-and.ac.uk
