Synthesis and Small Molecule Exchange Studies of a Magnesium Bisformate Metal–Organic Framework: An Experiment in Host–Guest Chemistry for the Undergraduate Laboratory

Abstract

Experiments are described that introduce students to the important concepts of host–guest chemistry and size exclusion in porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The experiment has been successfully carried out in both introductory and advanced-level inorganic chemistry laboratories. Students synthesized the porous MOF, α-Mg3(O2CH)6, and examined its ability to take up a variety of small organic molecules into its pores using 1H NMR spectroscopy. The MOF exhibited size exclusion and students rationalized this behavior based on the structures of the organic molecules and the pore size of the MOF.