Whereas design strategies based upon crystal engineering have afforded great opportunity in the construction of rigid nanoscale structures with relatively high porosity and thermal stability, development of metal-organic compounds that exhibit dynamic molecular recognition events within their flexible frameworks remains to be fully explored. In particular, it is highly desirable to attain such systems as those possessing two types of cavities whose openness/closeness can be specifically controlled by both molecular and supramolecular means. We recently reported an undulating yet rigid metal-organic network with two types of hydrophobic cavities by using paddle wheel metal clusters as secondary building units (SBUs) bridged by 1,3-benzenedicarboxylates. Herein, we present an example in which 2,4,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,3-benzenedicarboxylate, a functionalized and flexible organic ligand, has been employed to successfully attain a series of novel metal-organic frameworks with interesting dynamic aspects. Template effects and molecular recognitions are keys to understand such guest-induced structural diversity. Potential application of these materials as separation or sensing devices highlights the significance in the pursuit of metal-organic nanostructures with controllable dynamic features.
Back to Nanoscale Materials: Synthesis, Application and Development II (General Session)
Back to The 56th Southeast Regional Meeting 2004 (November 10-13, 2004)