Controlling Charge Transport in 2D Conductive MOFs─The Role of Nitrogen-Rich Ligands and Chemical Functionality

Two-dimensional electrically conducting metal-organic frameworks (2D-e-MOFs) have emerged as a class of highly promising functional materials for a wide range of applications. However, despite the significant recent advances in 2D-e-MOFs, developing systems that can be postsynthetically chemically functionalized, while also allowing fine-tuning of the transport properties, remains challenging. Herein, we report two isostructural 2D-e-MOFs: Ni₃(HITAT)₂ and Ni₃(HITBim)₂ based on two new 3-fold symmetric ligands: 2,3,7,8,12,13-hexaaminotriazatruxene (HATAT) and 2,3,8,9,14,15-hexaaminotribenzimidazole (HATBim), respectively, with reactive sites for postfunctionalization. Ni₃(HITAT)₂ and Ni₃(HITBim)₂ exhibit temperature-activated charge transport, with bulk conductivity values of 44 and 0.5 mS cm^-1, respectively. Density functional theory analysis attributes the difference to disparities in the electron density distribution within the parent ligands: nitrogen-rich HATBim exhibits localized electron density and a notably lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy relative to HATAT. Precise amounts of methanesulfonyl groups are covalently bonded to the N-H indole moiety within the Ni₃(HITAT)₂ framework, modulating the electrical conductivity by a factor of ∼20. These results provide a blueprint for the design of porous functional materials with tunable chemical functionality and electrical response.