Postsynthetic Metalation of Bipyridyl-Containing Metal–Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient Catalytic Organic Transformations

We have designed highly stable and recyclable single-site solid catalysts via postsynthetic metalation of the 2,2′-bipyridyl-derived metal–organic framework (MOF) of the UiO structure (bpy-UiO). The Ir-functionalized MOF (bpy-UiO-Ir) is a highly active catalyst for both borylation of aromatic C–H bonds using B2(pin)2 (pin = pinacolate) and ortho-silylation of benzylicsilyl ethers; the ortho-silylation activity of the bpy-UiO-Ir is at least 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the homogeneous control. The Pd-functionalized MOF (bpy-UiO-Pd) catalyzes the dehydrogenation of substituted cyclohexenones to afford phenol derivatives with oxygen as the oxidant. Most impressively, the bpy-UiO-Ir was recycled and reused 20 times for the borylation reaction without loss of catalytic activity or MOF crystallinity. This work highlights the opportunity in designing highly stable and active catalysts based on MOFs containing nitrogen donor ligands for important organic transformations.