Increased Electrical Conductivity in a Mesoporous Metal-Organic Framework Featuring Metallacarboranes Guests

Nickel(IV) bis(dicarbollide) is incorporated in a zirconium-based metal-organic framework (MOF), NU-1000, to create an electrically conductive MOF with mesoporosity. All the nickel bis(dicarbollide) units are located as guest molecules in the microporous channels of NU-1000, which permits the further incorporation of other active species in the remaining mesopores. For demonstration, manganese oxide is installed on the nodes of the electrically conductive MOF. The electrochemically addressable fraction and specific capacitance of the manganese oxide in the conductive framework are more than 10 times higher than those of the manganese oxide in the parent MOF.