Disappearing Polymorphs in Metal–Organic Framework Chemistry: Unexpected Stabilization of a Layered Polymorph over an Interpenetrated Three-Dimensional Structure in Mercury Imidazolate |
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Authors: | Isaiah R. Speight Dr. Igor Huskić Dr. Mihails Arhangelskis Dr. Hatem M. Titi Dr. Robin S. Stein Prof. Timothy P. Hanusa Prof. Tomislav Friščić |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235 USA;2. Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0B8 Canada |
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Abstract: | The “disappearing polymorph” phenomenon is well established in organic solids, and has had a profound effect in pharmaceutical materials science. The first example of this effect in metal-containing systems in general, and in coordination-network solids in particular, is here reported. Specifically, attempts to mechanochemically synthesize a known interpenetrated diamondoid (dia) mercury(II) imidazolate metal–organic framework (MOF) yielded a novel, more stable polymorph based on square-grid (sql) layers. Simultaneously, the dia-form was found to be highly elusive, observed only as a short-lived intermediate in monitoring solvent-free synthesis and not at all from solution. The destabilization of a dense dia-framework relative to a lower dimensionality one is in contrast to the behavior of other imidazolate MOFs, with periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations showing that it arises from weak interactions, including structure-stabilizing agostic C−H⋅⋅⋅Hg contacts. While providing a new link between MOFs and crystal engineering of organic solids, these findings highlight a possible role for agostic interactions in directing topology and stability of MOF polymorphs. |
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Keywords: | mechanochemistry mercury metal–organic frameworks polymorph solid state |
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