A water stable microporous metal-organic framework based on rod SBUs: synthesis, structure and adsorption properties

A novel water stable porous metal-organic framework (MOF), [Cu-3(OH)(2)(IBA)(2)(CH3COO)(2)]center dot DMA (1) (HIBA = 4-(imidazol-1-yl)-benzoic acid, DMA = N, N-dimethylacetamide), has been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. The framework of compound 1 is constructed from rod SBUs with a new (5,8)-connected topology. Compound 1 exhibits exceptional chemical stability under various conditions (organic solvents, water, boiling water or pH = 1-8 acidic and basic aqueous solutions). Meanwhile, it exhibits good selectivity for CO2 over CH4 (6.6 for CO2/CH4 = 0.5/0.5 and 5.8 for CO2/CH4 = 0.05/0.95 under 1 bar at 298 K). The excellent stability of compound 1 is of extreme importance for its practical industrial applications.