Structure of the FeBTC Metal-Organic Framework: A Model Based on the Local Environment Study

The local environment of iron in FeBTC, a metal organic framework commercially known as Basolite F300, is investigated combining XANES and EXAFS studies of the iron K-edge. The building block of the FeBTC can be described as an iron acetate moiety. Dehydration induces a change in the coordination of the first shell while preserving the network. We propose that the local structure around Fe atoms does not undergo a rearrangement, thus, leading to the formation of an open site. The analysis conveys that the FeBTC is a disordered network of locally ordered blocks.