Design and synthesis of porous 3D MOFs hybrid functional materials encapsulating macrocyclic metal complexes

Abstract A series of remarkable crystalline compounds were obtained from the simple one-step solvothermal reaction of zinc nitrate or copper nitrate, benzentricarboxylate (BTC) and certain macrocyclic metal complexes. In these compounds, the macrocyclic metal complexes were alternately arrayed as noncoordinating guests in the cages of a Zn-BTC or Cu-BTC-based metal organic framework host matrix. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis, ICPAES, EDS, H 2 adsorption studies demonstrated the validity of encapsulation of macrocyclic metal complexes and the enhancement of hydrogen capacities. It is the first time that the construction of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is based on macrocyclic metal complexes as templates. Actually, it is worth to be noted that the introduction of macrocylic metal complexes contributes to increasing the active sites or the adsorption sites interacting to hydrogen gas.