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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Author Spotlight: Experimental Approaches for the Synthesis of Low-Valent Metal-Organic Frameworks from Multitopic Phosphine Linkers
Published on: May 12, 2023
Selective decontamination of the reactive air pollutant nitrous acid via node-linker cooperativity in a metal-organic
Devon T McGrath1, Michaela D Ryan1, John J MacInnis1
1Department of Chemistry , Memorial University of Newfoundland , St. John's , NL , Canada .
Abstract:
Nitrous acid (HONO) is a reservoir of NO and an emerging pollutant having direct impacts on air quality, both in- and outdoors, as well as on human health. In this work, the amine-functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), UiO-66-NH2, was investigated due to its potential to selectively decontaminate nitrous acid at environmentally relevant concentrations. UiO-66-NH2 proved to be effective in the removal of nitrous acid from a continuous gaseous stream. This is observed via the formation of an aryl diazonium salt that subsequently converts to a phenol with a concomitant release of nitrogen gas. This process is preceded via the formation of the nitrosonium cation (likely protonation from an acidic proton on the node). Thus, UiO-66-NH2 is capable of selectively converting the pollutant nitrous acid to benign products.
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Relative Reactivity of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
A key factor in assessing the reactivity of the acid derivatives is the basicity of the substituent or the leaving group. The lower the basicity of the leaving group, the higher the reactivity of the derivative. The basicity of the leaving group follows this order:
Halide ions < Acyloxy ions < Alkoxy ions < Amine ions

