A doubly interpenetrated square-grid coordination polymer {[Cd(ImBNN)(2)(CF(3)SO(3))(2)])guest}(n) (1) (guest = C(7)H(8) and ImBNN = 2,5-bis[4'-(imidazol-1-yl)phenyl]-3,4-diaza-2,4-hexadiene) that contains cavities able to accommodate toluene guest molecules has been assembled by the reaction of the Schiff base ligand ImBNN and Cd(CF(3)SO(3))(2). The framework 1 shows dynamism in either temperature-dependent expansion and shrinkage or cooperatively temperature-dependent guest-driven ligand exchange at the metal center. Studies of guest removal/uptake by heating in a vacuum, cooling in air, and then heating in toluene at reflux have revealed a series of single-crystal-to-single-crystal structural transformations: complex 1 lost toluene guests and captured water molecules to give guest-free 1 b via a proposed metastable phase 1 a, and 1 b could readsorb toluene guests to give 1', which represents a restored 1. These structural changes establish an indirect recoverable process that involves ligand exchange in the coordination sphere and guest exchange in the cavity accompanied by the cleavage/formation of Cd-O bonds and CF(3)SO(3)(-) anion-shifting. In contrast, direct heating of 1 in the absence of a vacuum resulted in thermostable 1 c, confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction as a new phase that could not be converted back into 1 and that had lost the ability of readsorbing toluene guests.

A three-dimensional (3D) metal–organic framework (MOF), namely, {[Mn4(PBA)4(H2O)6·5H2O]} n (Mn-PBA), has been successfully constructed from 5-(4-pyridin-3-yl-benzoylamino)-isophthalic acid ligand (H2PBA) and Mn­(II) ions under solvothermal condition. Structural analysis reveals that there exist 1D hexagonal channels in the 3D structure along the b-axis. Mesoporous Mn3O4/C composites were fabricated by the direct thermolysis of Mn-PBA at 500 °C under an air atmosphere. When tested as a lithium-ion battery anode material, the Mn3O4/C electrode delivers an excellent capacity of 1032 mAh g–1 at 200 mA g–1 after 500 cycles along with remarkable rate capacity, which is supposed to benefit from the unique microspheres characteristic and large accessible specific area. Owing to the good cycling stability and high capacity, the Mn3O4/C electrode can be regarded as a promising anode material for LIBs.

Porous carbon material was synthesized by calcination of a Cd-MOF template. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the carbon electrode shows a high reversible discharge capacity.

By application of a newly designed T-shaped ligand 5-(4-pyridin-4-yl-benzoylamino)isophthalic acid (HPBAI) to assemble with Zn(II) ions under solvothermal conditions, a novel porous polyhedral metal-organic framework (Zn-PBAI) with pcu topology has been obtained. When treated as a precursor by annealing of Zn-PBAI at various temperatures, porous carbon polyhedra (PCP) were prepared and tested as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The results show that PCP carbonized at 1000 °C (PCP-1000) manifest the highest reversible specific capacity of about 1125 mAh g at a current of 500 mA g after 200 cycles, which is supposed to benefit from the large accessible specific area and high electric conductivity. Moreover, PCP-1000 electrode materials also exhibit superior cyclic stability and good rate capacity.