In situ observation of the dehydration of a metal hydroxido cluster to a metal oxido cluster in a metal-organic framework and the effect on

Some metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations during removal or exchange of the guest molecules in the pores. Crystal structure determination of such samples is a powerful technique to elucidate the host-guest properties of the MOF. Typically, adsorption sites or configurational changes in network arrangement are identified in this fashion. Cases where the constitution of the network changes are rarer. In this experiment, we will follow the desolvation and dehydration of a zinc-organic framework that completely changes the constitution of the inorganic secondary building unit (SBU).