Rational Stepwise Construction of Different Heterometallic–Organic Frameworks (HMOFs) for Highly Efficient CO 2 Conversion

The coordination preference of different metal ions and ligands have an immense influence on the constructions of functional MOF materials. In this work, two new monometallic complexes, namely [Ag(HL)(bipy)0.5 ] (1) and {[Tb(L)1.5 (H2 O)]⋅4 H2 O}n (2) (bipy=4,4-bipyridine), have been synthesized successfully by employing a bifunctional 2-(imidazol-1-yl)terephthalic acid (H2 L) ligand. After that, two new different heterometallic-organic frameworks (HMOFs), namely {[TbAg(L)2 (H2 O)3 ]⋅H2 O}n (3) and [TbAg(L)2 (H2 O)]n (4), were obtained from complexes 1 and 2 as the precursors based on a rational stepwise construction strategy and the theory of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB principle), respectively. The HMOFs bearing dual metallic catalytic sites (Tb and Ag) can be used as heterogeneous catalysts without losing performance for the chemical fixation of CO2 with epoxides including the sterically hindered epoxides, demonstrating some of the highest reported catalytic activity values. This work may provide a new synthetic route toward tailoring new HMOFs with excellent catalytic activity.