Observation of Topotactic Linker Reorganization in the Aperiodic Metal-Organic Framework TRUMOF-1.

We use synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements to monitor the solvothermal crystallization mechanism of the aperiodic metal-organic framework TRUMOF-1. Following an initial incubation period, TRUMOF-1 forms as a metastable intermediate that subsequently transforms into an ordered product with triclinic crystal symmetry. We determine the structure of this ordered phase, which we call msw-TRUMOF-1, and show that it is related to TRUMOF-1 through topotactic reorganization of linker occupancies. Our results imply that the connectivity of TRUMOF-1 can be reorganized, as required for data storage and manipulation applications.