Synthesis, structure and adsorption properties of lanthanide–organic frameworks with pyridine-3,5-bis(phenyl-4-carboxylate)

Under solvothermal conditions, reactions of pyridine-3,5-bis(phenyl-4-carboxylic acid) (H2L) with lanthanide metal salts give rise to three new metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with the formula {[Ln4(L)3(μ3-OH)4(H2O)4]·(NO3)2·solvent}n [Ln = Er (1), Yb (2) and Lu (3)]. The complexes were characterized by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, IR and thermogravimetric analyses. They have the same two-fold interpenetrating three-dimensional (3D) framework structures with [Ln4(COO)6(μ3-OH)4(H2O)4] clusters as secondary building units (SBUs) and a rare 6-connected lcy topology with the point (Schlafli) symbol of {33·59·63}. Interestingly, 1–3 show selective and hysteretic sorption of CO2 over N2, and the photoluminescence properties of the complexes were also investigated.