Defect Engineering into Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Rapid and Sequential Installation of Functionalities

Postsynthetic treatments are well-known and important functionalization tools of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Herein, we have developed a practical and rapid postsynthetic ligand exchange (PSE) strategy using a defect-controlled MOF. An increase in the number of defects amounts to MOFs with enhanced rates of ligand exchange in a shorter time frame. An almost quantitative exchange was achieved by using the most defective MOFs. This PSE strategy is a straightforward method to introduce a functionality into MOFs including bulky or catalytically relevant moieties. Furthermore, some mechanistic insights into PSE were revealed, allowing for a sequential ligand exchange and the development of multifunctional MOFs with controlled ligand ratios.