Synthesis and characterization of recyclable porous materials

Abstract

Zeolites are solid materials that contain rigid frameworks and accessible internal channels or cages. They have been used in many applications in areas of catalysis and phase separation.[1] Recent work has shown that porous metal organic materials have properties that mimic and sometimes are superior to those of zeolites.[2] Novel metal organic framework structures with specific functionality can be designed and rationally synthesized, by selecting suitable organic ligands and metal centers. In this paper, we describe our recent study of a group of organic framework structures based on the metal cobalt and the organic ligands biphenyldicarboxylate (bpdc) and bipyridine (bpy), RPMs (Rutgers Recyclable Porous Materials) that are porous and recyclable.[3] This remarkable structural recyclability makes these systems highly promising for use as host materials in ship-in-bottle catalysis.