We utilized the etb platform of MOFs
for the synthesis
of two new water-stable compounds based on amide functionalized trigonal
tritopic organic linkers H3BTBTB (L1), H3BTCTB
(L2) and Al3+ metal ions, namely, Al(L1) and Al(L2). The mesoporous Al(L1) material exhibits
an impressive methane (CH4) uptake at high pressures and
ambient temperature. The corresponding values of 192 cm3 (STP) cm–3, 0.254 g g–1 at 100
bar, and 298 K are among the highest reported for mesoporous MOFs,
while the gravimetric and volumetric working capacities (between 80
bar and 5 bar) can be well compared to the best MOFs for CH4 storage. Furthermore, at 298 K and 50 bar, Al(L1) adsorbs
50 wt % (304 cm3 (STP) cm–3) CO2, values among the best recorded for CO2 storage using
porous materials. To gain insight into the mechanism accounting for
the resultant enhanced CH4 storage capacity, theoretical
calculations were performed, revealing the presence of strong CH4 adsorption sites near the amide groups. Our work demonstrates
that amide functionalized mesoporous etb-MOFs can
be valuable for the design of versatile coordination compounds with
CH4 and CO2 storage capacities comparable to
ultra-high surface area microporous MOFs.