Entangled Uranyl Organic Frameworks with (10,3)‑<i>b</i> Topology and Polythreading Network: Structure, Luminescence, and Computational Investigation

Two 3D uranyl organic frameworks (UOFs) with entangled structures, (HPhen)2[(UO2)2L2]·4.5H2O (1) and [(UO2)3(H2O)4L2]·6H2O (2), were synthesized using a rigid tripodal linker (4,4′,4″-(phenylsilanetriyl)­tribenzoic acid, H3L). Compound 1 represents a 2-fold interpenetrating UOF with the unique (10,3)-b topology. Compound 2 is composed of three interlocked sets of identical singlet networks and thus exhibits a rare 3D polythreading network with (3,4)-connected topology. These two compounds have been characterized by IR, UV–vis, and photoluminescent spectroscopy. A density functional theory (DFT) study on the model compounds of 1 and 2 shows good agreement of structural parameters and UO stretching vibrational frequencies with experimental data. The experimentally measured absorption bands were well reproduced by the time-dependent DFT calculations.