The First Demonstration of the Gyroid in a Polyoxometalate-Based Open Framework with High Proton Conductivity

The fabrication of extended open frameworks with crystalline ordering on the atomic level by following peculiar mathematical geometry (e.g. Möbius band, Klein bottle, periodic minimal surfaces, etc.) is challenging, but extremely beneficial for discovering non-trivial structure-dependent properties. In light of this, we herein report the first polyoxometalate-based open framework (POM-OF) that definitely lies on the gyroid (G)-minimal surface, which was constructed by a rare pair of chiral POM enantiomers and zinc ions. Due to the presence of the proton carriers (i.e., water, Na(+) , [(Bu)4 N](+) , etc.) in the resultant gyroidal channels, with pore dimensions on the order of the quasi-mesoporous scale, this compound shows a high proton conductivity of 1.04×10(-2)  S cm(-1) at a relative humidity of 75 % (80 °C), and also exhibits enormous potential in the application of electrochemical catalysis.