Retraction of “Room Temperature Metallic Conductivity in a Metal–Organic Framework Induced by Oxidation”

Abstract

The authors retract this Article (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b06898) because reinvestigation of the conductivity data for the cobalt 2,3,6,7,10,11-triphenylenehexathiolate (CoTHT) metal–organic framework (MOF) determined that the anomalous temperature-dependent maxima reported were not due to metallic conductivity. Instead, it was found that ohmic contact was lost during cooling. This resulted in a significant reduction to the current passing between the electrodes, which could not be detected using the equipment available at the time. The conductivity data for the iron analogue FeTHT was not remeasured, but the authors consider that the anomalous temperature-dependent maxima is due to a similar effect. The authors note that the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, synthetic studies, synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, modeling, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, photoemission, and magnetic susceptibility measurements stand on their own merit. However, due to the misinterpretation of the conductivity data, the findings of the work are incorrect, and thus the paper is being retracted. The original Article was published on September 25, 2019 and retracted on April 10, 2025. This article has not yet been cited by other publications.