Stabilizing the titanium-based metal organic frameworks in water by metal cations with empty or partially-filled d orbitals

Abstract

Though titanium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are declared to be relatively water stable, their framework gradually collapses in water within days due to the attack of OH− to OTiO bond. For practical applications of titanium-based MOFs, it is crucial to solve their instability problem in water. We searched for a simple and efficient method to enhance the stability of titanium-based MOFs in water by using Ti-ATA (ATA = 2-aminoterephthallate ion) as a representative titanium-based MOF. Here, we show that the stability of Ti-ATA in water is greatly improved nearly without affecting its porosity and photocatalytic activity by treating it with aqueous solutions containing metal ions of empty d orbitals (Y3+, La3+, Ce3+, Nd3+ and Tm3+) or partially-filled d orbitals (Cr3+).