Ligand-Directed Reticular Synthesis of Catalytically Active Missing Zirconium-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks

Abstract

Zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) based on <i>edge-transitive</i> nets such as <b>fcu</b>, <b>spn</b>, <b>she</b>, <b>csq</b>, and <b>ftw</b> with diverse potential applications have been widely reported. Zr-MOFs based on the highly connected 6,12-connected <b>alb</b> net, however, remain absent on account of synthetic challenges. Herein we report the ligand-directed reticular syntheses and isoreticular expansion of a series of Zr-MOFs with the edge-transitive <b>alb</b> net from 12-connected hexagonal-prismatic Zr₆ nodes and 6-connected trigonal-prismatic linkers, i.e., microporous NU-1600, mesoporous NU-1601, and mesoporous NU-1602. These Zr-MOFs exhibit remarkable activities toward the destruction of a nerve agent (soman) and a nerve agent simulant (DMNP).