Supramolecular isomers, water clusters and solvent-mediated transformations in a series of lanthanide MOFs

Abstract

A series of Lanthanide MOFs of hydromuconic acid (H2hymuc) with cations of different size (La3+, Ce3+, Gd3+, Y3+) were generated at room temperature, pH = 5.5–5.8, using water as solvent. Two microporous genuine supramolecular isomers were found for the larger cations (La3+, Ce3+) sustained either by discrete (H2O)18 clusters or by infinite water tapes, consisting of fused tetramers, pentamers and hexamers. The smaller cations (Gd3+, Y3+) produced a 2D phase, considered as catenane isomer of previously published lanthanide MOFs with adipic acid. MOFs obtained with Ce3+, Gd3+and Y3+ undergo irreversible solvent-mediated transformation, yielding isomorphous 3D two-fold interpenetrated MOFs. The close structural similarity between the 2D phase and the 3D interpenetrated one indicated a possible mechanism for this transformation.