Two eight-connected self-penetrating porous metal–organic frameworks: configurational isomers caused by different linking modes between terephthalate and binuclear nickel building units

Abstract

Two novel nanoporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based on the same binuclear nickel secondary building units, {[Ni2(H2O)(BDC)2(BIMB)2]·6DMF}n (1) and {[Ni2(H2O)(BDC)2(BIMB)2]·5DMAc}n (2) (H2BDC = terephthalic acid, BIMB = 1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl)benzene and DMF = N,N′-dimethylformamide, DMAc = N,N′-dimethylacetamide) have been synthesized by self-assembly of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, BIMB and H2BDC in different solvents (DMF and DMAc), respectively. Different linking modes between terephthalate and binuclear nickel building units in 1 and 2 lead to an interesting phenomenon that their host frameworks are isomeric to each other and have the same three periodic eight-connected self-penetrating nets with novel 420.68 topology. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) results indicate that 1 and 2 both have reversible framework transformations in an acetone/guest solvent molecule system.