Hexaazatrinaphthylene-Based Ultrastable Metal–Organic Frameworks Modulated by the Chelating Coordination Configuration for CO2 Capture

Hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN), a polyheterocyclic aromatic ligand, is ideal for constructing discrete functional coordination complexes. However, its conjugated rigidity has resulted in a great challenge in forming extended structures with only one 3D metal–organic framework (MOF) reported 24 years ago. Herein, by regulation of the dihedral angle between two chelating HATN planes, three new porous HATN-based MOFs (SNNU-231–233) with mononuclear metal centers were successfully synthesized. SNNU-231, a unique 2-fold interpenetrated MOF, was first assembled, but the interpenetration leads to the lost pores. By modulating coordination configurations, the pore channels were successfully opened in SNNU-232 and SNNU-233, leading to a new topology in SNNU-232 and breaking the interpenetration in SNNU-233. All HATN-based MOFs exhibit exceptional thermal stability above 500 °C, surpassing most reported MOF materials. At the same time, SNNU-233 can keep its structure in water from pH = 1 to 14. Specifically, SNNU-233 had outstanding CO2 uptake capacity and separation ability of CO2/N2 due to its strong affinity to CO2 molecules in specific pores with abundant hydrogen bonds and π-force adsorption sites. SNNU-233 also showed significant potential for the simulated low calorific value coal gases with five components of H2 (5.1%), CO (9.1%), CH4 (5.0%), N2 (66.3%), and CO2 (14.3%).