The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

A flexible copper MOF as a carboxylate-specific crystalline sponge for structure solution using X-ray and electron diffraction

A flexible copper MOF as a carboxylate-specific crystalline sponge for structure solution using X-ray and electron diffraction
A flexible copper MOF as a carboxylate-specific crystalline sponge for structure solution using X-ray and electron diffraction

A new metal–organic framework (MOF) comprising copper and 2,3-dihydroxyterephthalate (2,3-dhtp) has been prepared using solvothermal synthesis. The solid (chemical formula of the as-made material): Cu12(dhtp)4(H2dhtp)3(CH3CO2)2 2DMF·10H2O is flexible in that its pore size adapts to match the size of guest molecules that are adsorbed. Carboxylate-containing molecules of different sizes (acetate, benzoic acid and ibuprofen) can be accommodated within the pores of the material and are coordinated to a dimeric copper unit. The localisation of the adsorbate guest molecule, the mode of binding and relatively low symmetry of the MOF allows the system to be used as a crystalline sponge. The crystal structure determination of the as-synthesised acetate-bound MOF was accomplished using single-crystal X-ray diffraction using a synchrotron source, while the benzoate- and ibuprofen-bound structures were solved using electron diffraction. A more practical adsorbent can be formulated by growing the MOF on a cotton fabric substrate, and this is shown to adsorb ibuprofen in a similar manner to the powdered MOF.

2041-6520
1116-1126
Main, Russell M.
dfd68240-78d4-49e8-bfdf-b005b312e87f
Rainer, Daniel N.
ece5513b-0f92-4143-bddd-a4ae2802ae6d
Bauzá, Marta
6f66ef87-66d2-4aae-8822-b45273e1a0f5
Ettlinger, Romy
cca4836f-3730-4a63-8ab5-ce4668227c5e
Kelly, Nicole L.
b06c8f04-1f87-4d11-9d59-95622be556e6
Coles, Simon J.
3116f58b-c30c-48cf-bdd5-397d1c1fecf8
Ashbrook, Sharon E.
7f280ee4-6793-4956-aeb7-e933c8fafb1d
Morris, Russell E.
0c724305-d30c-4be8-8b1f-bec10ca5f91c
Main, Russell M.
dfd68240-78d4-49e8-bfdf-b005b312e87f
Rainer, Daniel N.
ece5513b-0f92-4143-bddd-a4ae2802ae6d
Bauzá, Marta
6f66ef87-66d2-4aae-8822-b45273e1a0f5
Ettlinger, Romy
cca4836f-3730-4a63-8ab5-ce4668227c5e
Kelly, Nicole L.
b06c8f04-1f87-4d11-9d59-95622be556e6
Coles, Simon J.
3116f58b-c30c-48cf-bdd5-397d1c1fecf8
Ashbrook, Sharon E.
7f280ee4-6793-4956-aeb7-e933c8fafb1d
Morris, Russell E.
0c724305-d30c-4be8-8b1f-bec10ca5f91c

Main, Russell M., Rainer, Daniel N., Bauzá, Marta, Ettlinger, Romy, Kelly, Nicole L., Coles, Simon J., Ashbrook, Sharon E. and Morris, Russell E. (2026) A flexible copper MOF as a carboxylate-specific crystalline sponge for structure solution using X-ray and electron diffraction. Chemical Science, 17 (2), 1116-1126. (doi:10.1039/d5sc05651a).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A new metal–organic framework (MOF) comprising copper and 2,3-dihydroxyterephthalate (2,3-dhtp) has been prepared using solvothermal synthesis. The solid (chemical formula of the as-made material): Cu12(dhtp)4(H2dhtp)3(CH3CO2)2 2DMF·10H2O is flexible in that its pore size adapts to match the size of guest molecules that are adsorbed. Carboxylate-containing molecules of different sizes (acetate, benzoic acid and ibuprofen) can be accommodated within the pores of the material and are coordinated to a dimeric copper unit. The localisation of the adsorbate guest molecule, the mode of binding and relatively low symmetry of the MOF allows the system to be used as a crystalline sponge. The crystal structure determination of the as-synthesised acetate-bound MOF was accomplished using single-crystal X-ray diffraction using a synchrotron source, while the benzoate- and ibuprofen-bound structures were solved using electron diffraction. A more practical adsorbent can be formulated by growing the MOF on a cotton fabric substrate, and this is shown to adsorb ibuprofen in a similar manner to the powdered MOF.

Text
d5sc05651a - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (1MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 6 November 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 November 2025
Published date: 14 January 2026
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 508838
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508838
ISSN: 2041-6520
PURE UUID: 24ab7351-3f81-417a-a6cf-93e72e054031
ORCID for Daniel N. Rainer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3272-3161
ORCID for Simon J. Coles: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8414-9272

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 Feb 2026 17:45
Last modified: 05 Feb 2026 03:07

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Russell M. Main
Author: Daniel N. Rainer ORCID iD
Author: Marta Bauzá
Author: Romy Ettlinger
Author: Nicole L. Kelly
Author: Simon J. Coles ORCID iD
Author: Sharon E. Ashbrook
Author: Russell E. Morris

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×