Organization and Energy Transfer of Fused Aromatic Hydrocarbon Guests within Anion-Confining Nanochannel MOFs

The self-assembly of Zn-II ions with 1,3,5-tris(isonicotinoyloxyethyl)cyanurate produces new topological (4(2)12(4))(3)(4(3))(4) 2D metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with anion-confining cages. The eclipsed assembly of each 2D MOF by - stacking of cyanurate moieties (3.352(5)angstrom) forms 3D MOFs consisting of nanochannels (10.5 angstrom). Two of the three anions are confined in each peanut-type cage, resulting in hydrophobicity of the nanochannels. The hydrophobic nanochannel effectively adsorbs a wide range of fused aromatic hydrocarbons (FAHs) as monomers or dimers, rendering it potentially highly useful as an energy-transfer material.