No abstract

A new extended metal-organic framework [Cu(H2btec)(bipy)]infinity. (1) (H4btec= 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid; bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) has been hydrothermally synthesized. Violet crystals are formed in a monoclinic system with a space group C2/c; a = 10.1810(18) A, b = 14.4360(18) A, c = 12.894(3) A, beta = 112.94(3) degrees. In the title compound 1 each Cu(II) centre has a distorted square planar environment, completed by two N atoms from one bipy ligand and two O atoms belonging to two dihydrogen benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarboxylate anions (H2btec2-). The {Cu(bipy)}2+ moieties are bridged by H2btec2- anions to form an infinite one-dimensional coordination polymer with a zig-zag chain structure along the c axis. A double-chain structure is formed by hydrogen bonds between adjacent zig-zag chains. There are also pi-pi stacking interactions between the bipy ligands, with an average distance of 3.62 A resulting in a two-dimensional network structure. Compound 1 was tested as a catalyst for the oxidation of cyclohexene and styrene, with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. The catalytic activity (24 h and 75 degrees C) found for [Cu(H2btec)(bipy)]infinity shows a high value for the conversion of cyclohexene (64.5%), and a lower one for styrene (23.7%). High turnover frequency (TOF) values for the epoxide products were observed, indicating that the catalyst synthesized in this work, not only has a high activity and selectivity for epoxidation reactions but is also very efficient.

We report the synthesis and structural diversity of Zn(II) metal-organic framework (MOF) with in situ formation of tetrazole ligand 3-ptz [ 3-ptz = 5-(3-pyridyl)tetrazolate] as a function pH. By varying the initial reaction pH, we obtain high-quality crystals of the noncentrosymmetric three-dimensional MOF Zn(3-ptz) 2 , mixed phases involving the zinc-aqua complex [Zn(H 2 O) 4 (3-ptz) 2 ]·4H 2 O, and two-dimensional MOF crystals Zn(OH)(3-ptz) with a tunable microrod morphology, keeping reaction time, temperature, and metal–ligand molar ratio constant. Structures are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. We discuss the observed structural diversity in terms of the relative abundance of hydroxo-zinc species in solution for different values of pH.