Rigid-Flexible Hybrid Porous Molecular Crystals with Guest-Induced Reversible Crystallinity

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Mar 20;62(13):e202217903. doi: 10.1002/anie.202217903. Epub 2023 Feb 15.

Abstract

A weak CH/O hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) with both rigidity and flexibility that could easily and reversibly switch from a non-crystalline to a crystalline phase was constructed. The specific solvent molecule acts as a "key" to control the crystallinity, while the highly rigid triangle macrocycle as the building block is the "lock". The introduction and removal of the "key" could influence the local flexibility of the whole framework and lead to switchable crystallinity. Furthermore, the obtained HOF exhibits excellent separation efficiency for benzene and cyclohexane (94.4 %).

Keywords: Crystalline Porous Materials; Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework; Local Flexibility; Porous Molecular Crystals; Switchable Crystallinity.