Controllable syntheses of porous metal-organic frameworks: encapsulation of Ln(III) cations for tunable luminescence and small drug molecules for efficient delivery.

Two porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), [Zn3 (L)(H2 O)2 ]⋅3 DMF⋅7 H2 O (MOF-1) and [(CH3 )2 NH2 ]6 [Ni3 (L)2 (H2 O)6 ]⋅3 DMF⋅15 H2 O (MOF-2), were synthesized solvothermally (H6 L=1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis(3-carboxyphenyloxymethylene)benzene). In MOF-1, neighboring Zn(II) trimers are linked by the backbones of L ligands to form a fascinating 3D six-connected framework with the point symbol (4(12) .6(3) ) (4(12) .6(3) ). In MOF-2, eight L ligands bridge six Ni(II) atoms to generate a rhombic-dodecahedral [Ni6 L8 ] cage. Each cage is surrounded by eight adjacent ones through sharing of carboxylate groups to yield an unusual 3D porous framework. Encapsulation of Ln(III) cations for tunable luminescence and small drug molecules for efficient delivery were investigated in detail for MOF-1.