A New Route for the Rapid Synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks at Room Temperature

Rapid synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), especially high-valence MOFs at room temperature without external energy, is a challenging topic. In this work, a stable radical solution has been discovered. Various MOFs with versatile metal nodes and ligands were rapidly synthesized at room temperature in the absence of external energy. Especially, MOFs with conjugated ligands achieved instantaneous architecture (in less than 1 s) and quantitative yield. Radicals in the solution play a crucial role in the accelerated kinetics, and the new radical route paves a cyclic pathway for the MOF synthesis. The mechanism has been thoroughly investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance, in situ proton nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray absorption spectra, in situ small-angle X-ray scattering-wide-angle X-ray scattering, and density functional theory calculations.

Automated summary

This study discovered a stable radical solution that allows for rapid synthesis of various MOFs with different metal nodes and ligands at room temperature without external energy. MOFs with conjugated ligands achieved instantaneous architecture formation with a 100% yield. The mechanism was thoroughly investigated using multiple techniques.