Large pores generated by the combination of different inorganic units in a zinc hydroxide ethynylene diisophthalate MOF.

An ethynylene diisophthalic acid linker molecule was synthesized and used to form a zinc carboxylate-based metal organic framework (MOF) with very large pores and unit cell volume resulting from the unusual combination of structurally different inorganic units forming the secondary building blocks (SBUs). The structure is the first zinc hydroxide carboxylate structure where the inorganic units do not form layers or ribbons but isolated islands. The structure forms true pores with a significantly narrowed pore entry similar to zeolites. The pores are, thus, not created simply by intersecting channels as in most other MOF structures. Although the pore shape is highly asymmetric the spherical free volume is with 10.8 A still large. The stability of the SBUs in respect to exchange and removal of coordinated solvent molecules is investigated.