Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.140, No.36, 11153-11157, 2018
Methane Storage in Paddlewheel-Based Porous Coordination Cages
Although gas adsorption properties of extended three-dimensional metal-organic materials have been widely studied, they remain relatively unexplored in porous molecular systems. This is particularly the case for porous coordination cages for which surface areas are typically not reported. Herein, we report the synthesis, characterization, activation, and gas adsorption properties of a family of carbazole-based cages. The chromium analog displays a coordination cage record BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area of 1235 m(2)/g. With precise synthesis and activation procedures, two previously reported cages similarly display high surface areas. The materials exhibit high methane adsorption capacities at 65 bar with the chromium(II) cage displaying CH4 capacities of 194 cm(3)/g and 148 cm(3)/cm(3). This high uptake is a result of optimal pore design, which was confirmed via powder neutron diffraction experiments.