Flexible Porous Zinc–Pyrazole–Adenine Framework for Hysteretic Sorption of Light Hydrocarbons

One porous metal–organic framework based on mixed ligands, [Zn5(4-pca)4(ade)2(H2O)2]·(DMF)·4­(H2O) (1; 4-H2pca = 4-pyrazolecarboxylic acid, Hade = adenine, DMF = N,N-dimenthylformamide), has been synthesized solvothermally and structurally characterized. Interestingly, the framework of 1 shows reversible flexibility, so that the adsorption behaviors of this activated sample exhibit the gate-opening effect in response to light hydrocarbons (C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and C3H8). As a result, it could serve as an excellent platform for storage and purification of small hydrocarbons.