A Metal-Organic Framework from Adenine

A cheap and easily manufactured porous material capable of adsorbing gases such as H₂ and CH₄ could be put to use towards a “greener” future for energy storage and pollution control. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are comprised of metal ions coordinated with organic ligands that self-assemble under various synthetic conditions, producing porous structures that can be fine-tuned to yield desired properties. The common nucleic acid, adenine, has been found to serve as an adequate ligand when coordinated with copper ions to form crystalline metal-organic frameworks. It is shown that multiple modes of coordination occur from the pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and the amine moiety. The structure of this material was solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and its purity confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction experiments. The composition of the material is {[CuClAd₂DMSO₂]·(DMSO)(MeOH)}_X and was found to have a surface area of 85 m²/g from a nitrogen isotherm experiment.