title: Effective mercury sorption by thiol-laced metal-organic frameworks: in strong acid and the vapor phase.
abstract: Free-standing, accessible thiol (-SH) functions have been installed in robust, porous coordination networks to provide wide-ranging reactivities and properties in the solid state. The frameworks were assembled by reacting ZrCl4 or AlCl3 with 2,5-dimercapto-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2DMBD), which features the hard carboxyl and soft thiol functions. The resultant Zr-DMBD and Al-DMBD frameworks exhibit the UiO-66 and CAU-1 topologies, respectively, with the carboxyl bonded to the hard Zr(IV) or Al(III) center and the thiol groups decorating the pores. The thiol-laced Zr-DMBD crystals lower the Hg(II) concentration in water below 0.01 ppm and effectively take up Hg from the vapor phase. The Zr-DMBD solid also features a nearly white photoluminescence that is distinctly quenched after Hg uptake. The carboxyl/thiol combination thus illustrates the wider applicability of the hard-and-soft strategy for functional frameworks.
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Ka-Kit
authors: KK
authors: Yee
authors: Nele
authors: N
authors: Reimer
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Sum-Yin
authors: SY
authors: Cheng
authors: Shek-Man
authors: SM
authors: Yiu
authors: Jens
authors: J
authors: Weber
authors: Norbert
authors: N
authors: Stock
authors: Zhengtao
authors: Z
authors: Xu