A bifunctional, site-isolated metal-organic framework-based tandem catalyst.

Herein, we present the synthesis of a metal-organic framework-based tandem catalyst that contains two distinct catalytic domains. Zn(II)-based IRMOF-9-Irdcppy-NH2 (IRMOF = isoreticular metal-organic framework) has both organocatalytic amine and organometallic Ir(I) groups that were incorporated by both pre- and postsynthetic functionalization methods. The isolated amine and Ir(I) sites of IRMOF-9-Irdcppy-NH2 are shown to be independently catalytically active for performing a Knoevenagel condensation and allylic N-alkylation, respectively. More importantly, IRMOF-9-Irdcppy-NH2 can act as a tandem catalyst for both of these organic transformations in a one-pot reaction, which cannot be achieved efficiently using the combined, homogeneous analogues.