Sorting polymerization in a bichannel metal-organic framework

Keat Beamsley, Nobuhiko Hosono () and Takashi Uemura ()
Additional contact information
Keat Beamsley: The University of Tokyo
Nobuhiko Hosono: The University of Tokyo
Takashi Uemura: The University of Tokyo

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Accomplishing multiple synthetic tasks in parallel, including substrate capture, separation, and reaction, along with controlled arrangement of product, all in one system has remained a long-standing challenge in synthetic chemistry. Here, we report a sorting polymerization strategy that harnesses the multifunctional nature of a bichannel metal-organic framework (MOF). The MOF, [Cu(5-methylisophthalate)]n, featuring two distinct one-dimensional channels arranged in a single Kagome lattice, allows selective adsorption of monomers to different sites based on their polarity and size. This enables the sorting of different vinyl monomers and their in-situ parallel homo-polymerization within the respective channels. The process produces alternating single-chain arrays of homopolymers in a single step, a configuration unattainable by conventional approaches. Additionally, the introduction of inter-chain cross-linking allows for the isolation of the binary polymer array by removing the MOF template. This work highlights the potential of MOFs as versatile reaction platforms for the synthesis of complex, well-ordered molecular architectures from chaotic mixtures of raw materials.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62322-8 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62322-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62322-8

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().