The proton-conducting performances of a microporous Ti-based metal–organic
framework (MOF), MIP-207, were successfully tuned using a multicomponent
ligand replacement strategy to gradually introduce a controlled amount
of sulfonic acid groups as a source of Brönsted acidic sites
while keeping the robustness and ecofriendly synthesis conditions
of the starting material. Typically, multivariate sulfonic-based solids
MIP-207-(SO3H-IPA)
x
-(BTC)1–x
were prepared by combining various
ratios of trimesate 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) moieties and
5-SO3H-isophthalate (SO3H-IPA). The best sulfonic-MOF
candidate that combines structural integrity with high proton conductivity
values (e.g., σ = 2.6 × 10–2 S cm–1 at 363 K/95% relative humidity) was further
investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.
These calculations supported that the −SO3H groups
act as proton donors and revealed that the proton transfer mechanism
results from the solvation structure of protons through the fast Zundel/hydronium
interconversion along the continuous H-bonded network connecting the
adsorbed water molecules.
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