Pore Space Partition by Symmetry-Matching Regulated Ligand Insertion and Dramatic Tuning on Carbon Dioxide Uptake

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with the highest CO2 uptake capacity are usually those equipped with open metal sites. Here we seek alternative strategies and mechanisms for developing high-performance CO2 adsorbents. We demonstrate that through a ligand insertion pore space partition strategy, we can create crystalline porous materials (CPMs) with superior CO2 uptake capacity. Specifically, a new material, CPM-33b-Ni without any open metal sites, exhibits the CO2 uptake capacity comparable to MOF-74 with the same metal (Ni) at 298 K and 1 bar.