Issue 4, 2021

On-surface isostructural transformation from a hydrogen-bonded network to a coordination network for tuning the pore size and guest recognition

Abstract

Rational manipulation of supramolecular structures on surfaces is of great importance and challenging. We show that imidazole-based hydrogen-bonded networks on a metal surface can transform into an isostructural coordination network for facile tuning of the pore size and guest recognition behaviours. Deposition of triangular-shaped benzotrisimidazole (H3btim) molecules on Au(111)/Ag(111) surfaces gives honeycomb networks linked by double N–H⋯N hydrogen bonds. While the H3btim hydrogen-bonded networks on Au(111) evaporate above 453 K, those on Ag(111) transform into isostructural [Ag3(btim)] coordination networks based on double N–Ag–N bonds at 423 K, by virtue of the unconventional metal–acid replacement reaction (Ag reduces H+). The transformation expands the pore diameter of the honeycomb networks from 3.8 Å to 6.9 Å, giving remarkably different host–guest recognition behaviours for fullerene and ferrocene molecules based on the size compatibility mechanism.

Graphical abstract: On-surface isostructural transformation from a hydrogen-bonded network to a coordination network for tuning the pore size and guest recognition

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
17 Sept. 2020
Accepted
13 Nov. 2020
First published
13 Nov. 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 1272-1277

On-surface isostructural transformation from a hydrogen-bonded network to a coordination network for tuning the pore size and guest recognition

D. Zhou, J. Wang, P. Chen, Y. He, J. Wu, S. Gao, Z. Zhong, Y. Du, D. Zhong and J. Zhang, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 1272 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC05147K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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