Zinc(II)-boron(III)-imidazolate framework (ZBIF) with unusual pentagonal channels prepared from deep eutectic solvent

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable properties for various applications.
• Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and boron(III)-imidazolate frameworks (BIFs) are distinct classes of porous materials.
• Synthesizing hybrid frameworks with diverse metal centers and linkages remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize the first dual-metal zinc(II)-boron(III)-imidazolate porous material.
• To explore the integration of ZIF and BIF structural motifs within a single framework.
• To investigate the utility of deep eutectic solvents in constructing novel porous materials.

Main Methods:

• Solvothermal synthesis utilizing deep eutectic solvents.
• Single-crystal X-ray diffraction for structural determination.
• Powder X-ray diffraction and gas adsorption for material characterization.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of a novel porous material, Zn(2)(im)Cl(2)[B(im)(4)] (ZBIF-1).
• ZBIF-1 integrates structural features of both ZIFs (Zn-im linkage) and BIFs (B(im)(4)(-) complex).
• The synthesis demonstrated the effectiveness of deep eutectic solvents in creating complex hybrid frameworks.

Conclusions:

• The development of ZBIF-1 represents a new class of hybrid porous materials.
• This work highlights the potential of deep eutectic solvents for designing advanced MOFs.
• The integrated framework offers opportunities for exploring new material properties and applications.