The Importance of Polymorphism in Metal-Organic Framework Studies

Polymorphic phase transitions remain frequently undetected in routine metal-organic framework (MOF) studies; however, their discovery is of major importance in interpreting structure-property relationships. We herein report a reversible enantiotropic single-crystal to single-crystal polymorphic phase transition of a new microporous MOF [Eu(BDC)(NO3)(DMF)2]n (H2BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; DMF = dimethylformamide). While modification 1LT at 170 K crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with unit cell dimensions of a = 17.673(2) Å, b = 20.023(2) Å, c = 10.555(9) Å, β = 90.129(4)°, modification 1HT at 290 K crystallizes in higher symmetry space group C2/c with unit cell dimensions of a = 17.200(7) Å, b = 10.737(4) Å, c = 10.684(4) Å, β = 90.136(2)°. This temperature-induced phase transition is accompanied by a small change in the solvent-accessible voids from 46.8 in 1LT to 49.8% in 1HT, which triggers a significant change in the adsorption properties as compared to a reported isostructural compound. Detailed investigations on the phase transition were studied with variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), powder X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The herein-presented investigations emphasize the importance of polymorphic phase transitions in routine MOF studies originating from low-temperature SCXRD data and high-temperature physical property characterizations in avoiding the use of a wrong structure in interpreting structure-property relationships.