Template-assisted syntheses of two novel porous zirconium methylphosphonates

Two porous zirconium methylphosphonates (designated as ZMPmi and ZMPme respectively) were synthesized by using dibutyl methylphosphonate (DBMP) as a template. Two efficient post-synthetic treatments were developed to remove the incorporated template without destroying the hybrid structures. The materials were characterized by SEM, EPMA, TG, DTA, FTIR, and NMR. Specific surface area and porosity were evaluated by BET, αs-plots and DFT methods based on N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The specific surface areas of ZMPmi and ZMPme are determined to be 279 and 403 m2 g−1 and the maxima of pore size distributions are at 0.7 and 1.3 nm respectively.