Clip-off Chemistry: Synthesis by Programmed Disassembly of Reticular Materials

Bond breaking is an essential process in chemical transformations and the ability of researchers to strategically dictate which bonds in a given system will be broken translates to greater synthetic control. Here, we report extending the concept of selective bond breaking to reticular materials in a new synthetic approach that we call Clip-off Chemistry. We show that bond-breaking in these structures can be controlled at the molecular level; is periodic, quantitative, and selective; is effective in reactions performed in either solid or liquid phases; and can occur in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal fashion involving the entire bulk precursor sample. We validate Clip-off Chemistry by synthesizing two topologically distinct 3D metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) from two reported 3D MOFs, and a metal-organic macrocycle from metal-organic polyhedra (MOP). Clip-off Chemistry opens the door to the programmed disassembly of reticular materials and thus to the design and synthesis of new molecules and materials.