A supramolecular porous material comprising Fe(ii) mesocates

The dinuclear mesocate [Fe2L3](BF4)(4), 1, is a supramolecular building block for a microporous material. Structural analysis reveals that extensive noncovalent interactions in the solid state generate a 3D framework with microporous channels. These channels are permanently accessible to incoming guest molecules and adsorption isotherms demonstrate that the material has a high selectivity for CO2 over N-2.