(10,3)-a Noninterpenetrated network built from a Piedfort ligand pair

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Coordination Chemistry

Background:

• Tri-s-triazine derivatives offer unique structural properties for advanced materials.
• Pi-pi stacking interactions are crucial for self-assembly in molecular systems.
• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide tunable porosity and high surface areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a novel benzoic acid functionalized tri-s-triazine derivative, s-heptazine tribenzoate (HTB).
• To investigate the self-assembly behavior of HTB in solution.
• To construct a chiral metal-organic framework (MOF) utilizing HTB dimers.

Main Methods:

• Friedel-Crafts reaction and oxidation for HTB synthesis.
• Photoluminescence and mass spectroscopy for molecular interaction analysis.
• Solvothermal synthesis for MOF construction.

Main Results:

• HTB molecules form face-to-face pi-pi stacked dimers ('Piedfort units') in solution.
• A neutral, noninterpenetrated MOF with a (10,3)-a chiral network was successfully synthesized.
• The MOF incorporates HTB dimers at nodes linking trinuclear zinc clusters, exhibiting 84% solvent-accessible volume.
• The chiral network allows for enantiomeric forms of the dimer due to stacking offset.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates the successful synthesis of a novel chiral MOF built from self-assembled HTB dimers.
• The resulting MOF possesses high porosity and a unique chiral network structure.
• This work highlights the potential of functionalized tri-s-triazine derivatives in constructing advanced porous materials.