A Family of Highly Stable Lanthanide Metal-Organic Frameworks: Structural Evolution and Catalytic Activity

A family of homeotypic porous lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), [Ln(btc)(H2O)]center dot guest (Nd (1), Sm (2), Eu (3), Gd (4), Tb (5), Ho (6), Er (7), and Yb (8); guest: DMF or H2O) was synthesized. The structures of the as-synthesized compounds are tetragonal and contain 1D channels with accessible lanthanide ions. In situ single crystal X-ray diffraction shows that 1 undergoes a single-crystal to polycrystalline to single-crystal transformation from room temperature to 180 degrees C. During the release of DMF and water molecules from the channels by evacuation and subsequent heating, the structures of 1 and 7 transformed from tetragonal to monoclinic, and then to tetragonal, while the structure of 8 remained tetragonal. The transformation between the monoclinic and the low temperature tetragonal phases is reversible. The Ln(btc) MOFs are stable to at least 480 C and are among the most thermally stable MOFs. The Ln(btc) MOFs act as efficient Lewis acid catalysts for the cyanosilylation of aldehydes yielding cyanohydrins in high yields within short reaction times. 1 also catalyzes the cyanosilylation of less reactive substrates, such as ketones at room temperature. The Ln(btc) MOFs could be recycled and reused without loss of their crystallinity and activity.