Unprecedented selectivity in molecular recognition of carbohydrates by a metal–organic framework

Abstract

Metal–organic framework (MOF) material NU-1000 adsorbs dimers cellobiose and lactose from aqueous solution, in amounts exceeding 1250 mg g_NU-1000⁻¹ while completely excluding the adsorption of the monomer glucose, even in a competitive mode with cellobiose. The MOF also discriminates between dimers consisting of α and β linkages, showing no adsorption of maltose. Electronic structure calculations demonstrate that key to this selective molecular recognition is the number of favorable CH–π interactions made by the sugar with pyrene units of the MOF.