Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Experimental Approaches for the Synthesis of Low-Valent Metal-Organic Frameworks from Multitopic Phosphine Linkers
Published on: May 12, 2023
Organometallic and zeolitic ultralight MOFs from lithium alkynyl building blocks
Ruichen Zhang1, Tom O'Brien1, Fauzi Abdilah1,2
1Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK. r.davies@imperial.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Organometallic lithium-carbon(alkynyl) secondary building units have been used to construct a range of novel one-, two-, and three-dimensional lithium metal organic framework (MOF) materials. The 3D Li-MOF exhibits a zeolitic lta topology, and is notable for its low density and high theoretical porosity.
Related Concept Videos
Properties of Organometallic Compounds
Acidity of 1-Alkynes
The acidic strength of hydrocarbons follows the order: Alkynes > Alkenes > Alkanes. The strength of an acid is commonly expressed in units of pKa — the lower the pKa, the stronger the acid. Among the hydrocarbons, terminal alkynes have lower pKa values and are, therefore, more acidic. For example, the pKa values for ethane, ethene, and acetylene are 51, 44, and 25, respectively, as shown here.
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Acid Halides to Alcohols: LiAlH4 Reduction
The mechanism proceeds in three steps. First, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the acid halide to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Next, the carbonyl group is re-formed, and the halide ion departs as a leaving group, generating an aldehyde. A second nucleophilic attack by the hydride yields an alkoxide ion, which, upon protonation, gives a primary alcohol as...

