Noninvasive Substitution of K+ Sites in Cyclodextrin Metal-Organic Frameworks by Li+ Ions

Co-crystallization of K+ and Li+ ions with gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD) has been shown to substitute the K+ ion sites partially by Li+ ions, while retaining the structural integrity and accessible porosity of CD-MOF-1 (MOF, metal-organic framework). A series of experiments, in which the K+/Li+ ratio was varied with respect to that of gamma-CD, have been conducted in order to achieve the highest possible proportion of Li+ ions in the framework. Attempts to obtain a CD-MOF containing only Li+ ions resulted in nonporous materials. The structural occupancy on the part of the Li+ ions in the new CD-MOF has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis by determining the vacancies of K+-ion sites and accounting for the cation/gamma-CD ratio in CD-MOF-1. The proportion of Li+ ions has also been confirmed by elemental analysis, whereas powder X-ray diffraction has established the stability of the extended framework. This noninvasive synthetic approach to generating mixed-metal CD-MOFs is a promising method for obtaining porous framework unattainable de novo. Furthermore, the CO2 and H-2 capture capacities of the Lition-substituted CD-MOF have been shown to exceed the highest sorption capacities reported so far for CD-MOFs.