Enhancing the Water Stability of Al-MIL-101-NH2 via Postsynthetic Modification

The resistance of metal–organic frameworks towards water is a very critical issue concerning their practical use. Recently, it was shown for microporous MOFs that the water stability could be increased by introducing hydrophobic pendant groups. Here, we demonstrate a remarkable stabilisation of the mesoporous MOF Al‐MIL‐101‐NH2 by postsynthetic modification with phenyl isocyanate. In this process 86 % of the amino groups were converted into phenylurea units. As a consequence, the long‐term stability of Al‐MIL‐101‐URPh in liquid water could be extended beyond a week. In water saturated atmospheres Al‐MIL‐101‐URPh decomposed at least 12‐times slower than the unfunctionalised analogue. To study the underlying processes both materials were characterised by Ar, N2 and H2O sorption measurements, powder X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and chemical analysis as well as solid‐state NMR and IR spectroscopy. Postsynthetic modification decreased the BET equivalent surface area from 3363 to 1555 m2 g−1 for Al‐MIL‐101‐URPh and reduced the mean diameters of the mesopores by 0.6 nm without degrading the structure significantly and reducing thermal stability. In spite of similar water uptake capacities, the relative humidity‐dependent uptake of Al‐MIL‐101‐URPh is slowed and occurs at higher relative humidity values. In combination with 1H‐27Al D‐HMQC NMR spectroscopy experiments this favours a shielding mechanism of the Al clusters by the pendant phenyl groups and rules out pore blocking. Agents of shield: Postsynthetic modification of Al‐MIL‐101‐NH2 leads to a significantly enhanced water stability caused by shielding the inorganic building units against water attack (see figure). Attachment of hydrophobic phenylurea groups resulted in a considerably enhanced long‐term stability in liquid water from five minutes to about one week.