The design of an imidazolium functionalized SIFSIX pillared metal-organic framework

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks have become a popular research topic for the design of functional materials. Their high surface area and regular pore size combined with their tunability have resulted in applications in gas adsorption, separations, and catalysis. These properties can be improved by functionalization of the internal scaffolding, resulting in materials that are highly task specific. When the SiF62- anion is used as a pillar in the design of a metal-organic framework, the resulting material has demonstrated extremely selective uptake of both carbon dioxide1 and acetylene2 from gas mixtures. Since imidazolium salts have been shown trap carbon dioxide by chemisorption,3 it is hypothesized that an imidazolium functionalized SiF62- pillared metal-organic framework would possess an enhanced ability to capture carbon dioxide. In this work, the design strategy, and synthesis of an imidazolium functionalized SiF62- pillared, metal-organic framework is discussed.