A robust and porous titanium metal-organic framework for gas adsorption, CO2 capture and conversion.

A robust and porous titanium metal-organic framework (Ti-MOF; LCU-402) has been hydrothermally synthesized through combining a tetranuclear Ti2Ca2(μ3-O)2(μ2-H2O)1.3(H2O)4(O2C-)8 cluster and a tritopic 1,3,5-benzene(tris)benzoic (BTB) ligand. LCU-402 shows remarkable stability and permanent porosity for CO2, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6 gas adsorption. Moreover, LCU-402 as a heterogeneous catalyst can smoothly convert CO2 under a simulated flue atmosphere into organic carbonate molecules by cycloaddition reactions of CO2 and epoxides, indicating that LCU-402 might be a promising catalyst candidate in practical applications. We are confident that the identification of a persistent titanium-oxo building unit would accelerate the development of new porous Ti-MOF materials.