A water stable microporous metal–organic framework based on rod SBUs: synthesis, structure and adsorption properties

Abstract

A novel water stable porous metal–organic framework (MOF), [Cu₃(OH)₂(IBA)₂(CH₃COO)₂]·DMA (1) (HIBA = 4-(imidazol-1-yl)-benzoic acid, DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide), has been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. The framework of compound 1 is constructed from rod SBUs with a new (5,8)-connected topology. Compound 1 exhibits exceptional chemical stability under various conditions (organic solvents, water, boiling water or pH = 1–8 acidic and basic aqueous solutions). Meanwhile, it exhibits good selectivity for CO₂ over CH₄ (6.6 for CO₂/CH₄ = 0.5/0.5 and 5.8 for CO₂/CH₄ = 0.05/0.95 under 1 bar at 298 K). The excellent stability of compound 1 is of extreme importance for its practical industrial applications.