Unusual porous crystals via catenation of 1D ladders: unprecedented mixture effects on the adsorption of xylene isomers in a SCSC mode

Abstract

Self-assembly of silver(I) perchlorate with a C₃-symmetric tridentate N-donor ligand produces stable crystals with open channels via catenation of 1D ladder-type coordination polymers. The open-channel crystal shows both unprecedented mixture and temperature effects on the adsorption and separation of o-, m-, and p-xylene isomers in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) mode. o-Xylene is not adsorbed into the channel at 5 °C, but is inserted into the channel at room temperature. In particular, the 1 : 1 mixture of o- and m-xylene was adsorbed into the channel in the 1 : 1 mole ratio via intermolecular weak interactions at 5 °C. In addition, the porous crystals are a practical template for structural determination of small liquid hydrocarbons in the SCSC state.