Nitrate‐Anion‐Induced Formation of a 2D Metal‐Organic Framework with an Unconventional Kagomé Lattice Exhibiting Methanol‐Mediated Ketone Catalysis

Abstract Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) with kagomé lattice are attractive for their unique physical and chemical properties, but little attention has been paid to their catalytic properties. Herein, we report a 2D MOF based on a phosphonato‐amino‐carboxylate ligand (NaHL), i. e., [Na 0.33 Co(L)(CH 3 OH) 2 ](NO 3 ) 0.33 ( 2 ), which exhibits an unconventional kagomé lattice. The formation of this kagomé lattice is caused by the selective recognition of the NO 3 − anion by the phenolato group of L 2− as evidenced by theoretical calculations. Compound 2 can be utilized for the α‐methoxymethylation and aminomethylation of aromatic ketones using methanol as a C1 source. Interestingly, compound 2 can be exfoliated in‐situ into nanosheets with one‐layer thickness under catalytic reaction conditions, which improves the catalytic efficiency. Based on the results of experiments and theoretical calculations, we proposed possible pathways for the catalytic reaction.