Drastic enhancement of catalytic activity via post-oxidation of a porous MnII triazolate framework.

Mn(III) is a powerful active site for catalytic oxidation of alkyl aromatics, but it can be only stabilized by macrocyclic chelating ligands such porphyrinates. Herein, by using benzobistriazolate as a rigid bridging ligand, a porous Mn(II) azolate framework with a nitrogen-rich coordinated environment similar to that of metalloporphyrins was synthesized, in which the Mn(II) ions can be post-oxidized to Mn(III) to achieve drastic increase of catalytic (aerobic) oxidation performance.