A microporous metal-organic framework of a rare sty topology for high CH4 storage at room temperature.

A rare sty type microporous metal-organic framework, Cu(2)(FDDI) (; H(4)FDDI = tetramethyl 5,5'-(9H-fluorene-2,7-diyl)diisophthalate acid), was solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. With open metal sites and suitable pore space for their interactions with methane molecules, exhibits absolute methane storage of 180 cm(3)(STP) cm(-3) at room temperature and 35 bar, enabling it to be one of the very few porous MOFs whose methane storage capacities have met and/or approached the DOE target of 180 cm(3)(STP) cm(-3) for material-based methane storage.