Design of a Humidity-Stable Metal–Organic Framework Using a Phosphonate Monoester Ligand

Phosphonate monoesters are atypical linkers for metal–organic frameworks, but they offer potentially added versatility. In this work, a bulky isopropyl ester is used to direct the topology of a copper(II) network from a dense to an open framework, CALF-30. CALF-30 shows no adsorption of N2 or CH4 however, using CO2 sorption, CALF-30 was found to have a Langmuir surface area of over 300 m2/g and to be stable to conditions of 90% relative humidity at 353 K owing to kinetic shielding of the framework by the phosphonate ester.