Isoreticular Chemistry of Group 13 Metal-Organic Framework Compounds Based on V-Shaped Linker Molecules: Exceptions to the Rule?

Following the concept of isoreticular chemistry, we carried out a systematic study on Ga-containing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using six V-shaped linker molecules of differing sizes, geometries, and additional functional groups. The linkers included three isophthalic acid derivatives (m-H2BDC-R, R = CH3, OCH3, NHCOCH3), thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (H2TDC), and two 4,4'-sulfonyldibenzoic acid derivatives (H2SDBA, DPSTA). The crystal structures of seven compounds were elucidated by a combination of model building, single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), three-dimensional electron diffraction (3D ED), and Rietveld refinements against powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data. Four new Ga-MOFs that are isoreticular with their aluminum counterparts, i.e. Ga-CAU-10-R (Ga(OH)(m-BDC-R); R = OCH3, NHCOCH3), Ga-CAU-11 (Ga(OH)(SDBA)), and Ga-CAU-11-COOH (Ga(OH)(H2DPSTC)), were obtained. For the first time large single crystals of a MOF crystallizing in the CAU-10 structure type could be isolated, i.e. Ga-CAU-10-OCH3, which permitted a detailed structural characterization. In addition, the use of 5-methylisophthalic acid and thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid resulted in two new Ga-MOFs denoted Ga-CAU-49 and Ga-CAU-51, respectively, which are not isostructural with any known Al-MOF. The crystal structure of Ga-CAU-49 ([Ga4(m-HBDC-CH3)2(m-BDC-CH3)3(OH)4(H2O)]) contains an unprecedented rod-shaped inorganic building unit (IBU) of the formula ∞1{Ga16(OH)18O60}, composed of corner-sharing GaO5 and GaO6 polyhedra. In Ga-CAU-51 ([Ga(OH)(C5H2O2S)]) chains of alternating cis and trans corner-sharing GaO6 polyhedra form the IBU. A detailed characterization of the title compounds was carried out, including nitrogen gas and water vapor sorption measurements. Ga-CAU-11 was the only compound exhibiting porosity toward nitrogen with a type I isotherm, a specific surface area of aS,BET = 210 m2/g, and a micropore volume of Vmic = 0.09 cm3/g. The new MOF Ga-CAU-51 exhibits exceptional water sorption properties with a reversible S-shaped isotherm and a high uptake around p/p0 = 0.38 of mads = 370 mg/g.