Interpenetrated Frameworks with Anisotropic Pore Structures from a Tetrahedral Pyridine Ligand

Herein we investigate metal–organic
frameworks (MOFs) employing
the tetrahedral building block tetrakis­(4-(pyridin-4-ylethynyl)­phenyl)­silane
(1) as a structure-generating feature. Combining 1 with a series of different metal ions gives wildly different
MOF topologies, porosities, and properties. The frameworks discussed
deviate from the common construction principles of MOFs as both the
ligand and the metal center impose their coordination geometry on
the overall network. The resulting networks show attractive and unusual
void distributions, yet with properly controlled transition metal
ion geometries, these MOFs show a rational structural grammar with
respect to their structures.