The practical applicability of thiolated metal–organic
frameworks
(MOFs) remains challenging due to their low crystallinity and transient
stability. Herein, we present a one-pot solvothermal synthesis process
using varying ratios of 2,5-dimercaptoterephthalic acid (DMBD) and
1,4-benzene dicarboxylic acid (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100)
to prepare stable mixed-linker UiO-66-(SH)2 MOFs (ML-U66SX).
For each variant, the effects of different linker ratios on the crystallinity,
defectiveness, porosity, and particle size have been discussed in
detail. In addition, the impact of modulator concentration on these
features has also been described. The stability of ML-U66SX MOFs was
investigated under reductive and oxidative chemical conditions. The
mixed-linker MOFs were used as sacrificial catalyst supports to highlight
the interplay of template stability on the rate of the gold-catalyzed
4-nitrophenol hydrogenation reaction. The release of catalytically
active gold nanoclusters originating from the framework collapse decreased
with the controlled DMBD proportion, resulting in a 59% drop in the
normalized rate constants (9.11–3.73 s–1 mg–1). In addition, post-synthetic oxidation (PSO) was
used to further probe the stability of the mixed-linker thiol MOFs
under harsh oxidative conditions. Following oxidation, the UiO-66-(SH)2 MOF underwent immediate structural breakdown, unlike other
mixed-linker variants. Along with crystallinity, the microporous surface
area of the post-synthetically oxidized UiO-66-(SH)2 MOF
could be increased from 0 to 739 m2 g–1. Thus, the present study delineates a mixed-linker strategy to stabilize
the UiO-66-(SH)2 MOF under harsh chemical conditions through
meticulous thiol decoration.