Double−Step Gas Sorption of a Two−Dimensional Metal−Organic Framework

The synthesis, structural changes, and nitrogen gas sorption isotherm of a porous metal−organic framework (PMOF) comprising stacked two-dimensional sheets are reported. This compound easily loses guest molecules and shrinks its interlayer distance. The guest-free species show a unique double-step sorption isotherm. Sorption and X-ray structural analyses have clarified that the first uptake is a micropore filling, while the second uptake originates from a clathrate formation. This explains the total sorption amount corresponding to about the double of the original void volume of the crystals.