The activation of open coordination sites (OCSs) in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), i.e., the removal of solvent molecules coordinated at the OCSs, is an essential step that is required prior to the use of MOFs in potential applications such as gas chemisorption, separation, and catalysis because OCSs often serve as key sites in these applications. Recently, we developed a "chemical activation" method involving dichloromethane (DCM) treatment at room temperature, which is considered to be a promising alternative to conventional thermal activation (TA), because it does not require the application of external thermal energy, thereby preserving the structural integrity of the MOFs. However, strongly coordinating solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-diethylformamide (DEF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are difficult to remove solely with the DCM treatment. In this report, we demonstrate a multiple coordination exchange (CE) process executed initially with acetonitrile (MeCN), methanol (MeOH), or ethanol (EtOH) and subsequently with DCM to achieve the complete activation of OCSs that possess strong extracoordination. Thus, this process can serve as an effective "chemical route" to activation at room temperature that does not require applying heat. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has demonstrated the activation of OCSs using this multiple CE process, although MeOH and/or DCM has been popularly used in pretreatment steps prior to the TA process. Using MOF-74(Ni), we demonstrate that this multiple CE process can safely activate a thermally unstable MOF without inflicting structural damage. Furthermore, on the basis of in situ H nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) and Raman studies, we propose a plausible mechanism for the activation behavior of multiple CE.

Enhancement of hydrolytic stability of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is a challenging issue in MOF chemistry because most MOFs have shown limitations in their applications under a humid environment. Meanwhile, inner sphere electron transfer has constituted one of the most intensively studied subjects in contemporary chemistry. In this report, we show, for the first time, a new conceptual coordinative reduction of Cu2+ ion, which is realized in a paddlewheel MOF, HKUST-1, with a postsynthetic manner via inner sphere “single” electron transfer from hydroquinone (H2Q) to Cu2+ through its coordination bond. H2Q treatment of HKUST-1 under anhydrous conditions leads to the single charge (1+) reduction of approximately 30% of Cu2+ ions. Thus, this coordinative reduction is an excellent reduction process to be self-controlled in both oxidation state and quantity. As described below, once Cu2+ ions are reduced to Cu+, the reduction reaction does not proceed further, in terms of their oxidation state as well as their amount. Also, we demonstrate that a half of the Cu+ ions (about 15%) remains in paddlewheel framework with pseudo square planar geometry and the other half of the Cu+ ions (about 15%) forms [Cu­(MeCN)4]+ complex in a small cage in the fashion of a ship-in-a-bottle after dissociation from the framework. Furthermore, we show that the coordinative reduction results in substantial enhancement of the hydrolytic stability of HKUST-1 to the extent that its structure remains intact even after exposure to humid air for two years.

Isolated one-dimensional (1-D) proton channels in a metal-organic framework, MOF-74, have been reasonably expected to show highly directional proton conductivity, although no evidence has been provided. As a result of dimensional anisotropy of the channels evenly aligned in the c-axis of MOF-74 single crystal, highly directional proton conductivity is demonstrated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In particular, single crystals treated with sulfuric acid or ammonium hydroxide displays a maximum ∼1200-fold-enhanced c-axis proton conductivity compared to its a-axis conductivity, demonstrating highly directional proton migration through the channels. Very low activation energies (e.g., 0.12 eV) for the c-axis conductivity of MOF-74 also suggest a high proton mobility that arises via Grotthuss proton transfer parallel to the channels.