Two heterovalent copper-organic frameworks with multiple secondary building units: High performance for gas adsorption and separation and I sorption and release

With the help of the multiple secondary building unit (SBU) strategy, two novel heterovalent Cu-MOFs, [(CuI)CuL(DABCO)]·16DMF (JLU-Liu31) and [(CuI)CuL(DABCO)(DMF)]·18DMF (JLU-Liu32) [HL = pyridine-3,5-bis(phenyl-4-carboxylic acid), DABCO = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]-octane], have been successfully solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Both of the two compounds feature multiple SBUs and exhibit novel topologies. JLU-Liu31 possesses the largest sustainable pore volume among the MOFs based on CuI clusters. Moreover, the adsorption behaviours of the desolvated JLU-Liu31 material for some small gases (H, O, CO, CH, CH and CH) have been analysed in low pressure regions; meanwhile, it exhibits commendable selectivity for O over N, and CH over CH. The remarkable results illustrate that JLU-Liu31 is a good candidate for application in the separation of light hydrocarbons. Additionally, JLU-Liu32 exhibits impressive performance for I sorption and release in solvents.