Valence-Dependent Electrical Conductivity in a 3D Tetrahydroxyquinone-Based Metal–Organic Framework

Electrically conductive metal–organic frameworks (cMOFs) have become a topic of intense interest in recent years because of their great potential in electrochemical energy storage, electrocatalysis, and sensing applications. Most of the cMOFs reported hitherto are 2D structures, and 3D cMOFs remain rare. Herein we report FeTHQ, a 3D cMOF synthesized from tetrahydroxy-1,4-quinone (THQ) and iron(II) sulfate salt. FeTHQ exhibited a conductivity of 3.3 ± 0.55 mS cm–1at 300 K, which is high for 3D cMOFs. The conductivity of FeTHQ is valence-dependent. A higher conductivity was measured with the as-prepared FeTHQ than with the air-oxidized and sodium naphthalenide-reduced samples.