Synthesis, crystal structure and gas uptake properties of a urea-functionalized rht-type metal–organic framework

A hexatopic C3-symmetrical 5,5′,5″-(((benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(azanediyl))tris(carbonyl))tris-(azanediyl))triisophthalic acid (H6-1) linker containing tri-urea groups has been designed and synthesized through the reaction between 1,3,5-benzenetriisocyanate and aniline, which was employed to construct a new copper(II) metal–organic framework (MOF Cu-TUH) under the solvothermal reaction with Cu(NO3)2 in N,N-dimethylformamide. As expected, single crystal X-ray diffraction study reveals that the MOF Cu-TUH is composed of 3D packing of nanosized cuboctahedral, truncated tetrahedral, and truncated octahedral cages with a (3,24)-connected rht-topology. Furthermore, the preliminary gas uptake investigations of the activated MOF were conducted to evaluate its application in the area of gas storage and purifications.

Graphical abstractAn rht-type (3,24)-connected metal–organic framework containing tri-urea groups has been constructed and investigated its gas uptake properties.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide