High-Connectivity Triazolate-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Water Harvesting.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemistry

Background:

• Increasing connectivity in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can enhance hydrolytic stability.
• Tritopic linkers offer opportunities for creating novel MOF architectures.

Purpose of the Study:

• Synthesize and characterize a novel tritopic benzotriazolate MOF.
• Investigate the effects of postsynthetic modification on the MOF's properties, particularly water uptake.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Zn5(OAc)4(TBTT)2 MOF using a tritopic benzotriazolate linker.
• Single-crystal electron diffraction and elemental analysis for structural determination.
• Postsynthetic metal and anion exchange with NiCl2.

Main Results:

• A novel MOF with (3,6,6)-connectivity and high porosity was synthesized.
• Ni-exchange significantly increased BET surface area (1994 to 3034 m²/g) and hydrophilicity.
• The modified MOF demonstrated high water uptake (0.98 g/g) and stable performance over 100 cycles.

Conclusions:

• The new tritopic MOF exhibits excellent hydrolytic stability and water sorption capabilities.
• Postsynthetic modification is an effective strategy to tune MOF properties for enhanced performance.
• This material shows potential as a superior water sorbent, rivaling existing state-of-the-art MOFs.