A new layer-stacked porous framework showing sorption selectivity for CO2 and luminescence.

Abstract

A new metal-organic framework, [Zn3(μ3-OH)(tzba)2(bpy)(H2O)]OH·DMF (1), was solvothermally synthesized by employing tetrazolate-carboxylate 4-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) benzoic acid (H2tzba) linker and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) chelating coligand. 1 contains novel Zn6(μ3-OH)2(μ2-H2O)2(COO)4(N4C)2 hexanuclear clusters and reveals a three-dimensional (3D) microporous supramolecular framework based on the stacked 2D layers. The highly polar pores cause not only strong affinity towards CO2 molecules but also a significant selective adsorption of CO2 over CH4. Meanwhile, the multiple binding sites for CO2 in the framework were determined by Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. 1 also shows strong blue luminescence from ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT).