Template-Directed Approach Towards the Realization of Ordered Heterogeneity in Bimetallic Metal–Organic Frameworks

Controlling the arrangement of different metal ions to achieve ordered heterogeneity in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has been a great challenge. Herein, we introduce a template-directed approach, in which a 1D metal–organic polymer incorporating well-defined binding pockets for the secondary metal ions used as a structural template and starting material for the preparation of well-ordered bimetallic MOF-74s under heterogeneous-phase hydrothermal reaction conditions in the presence of secondary metal ions such as Ni²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in 3 h. The resulting bimetallic MOF-74s were found to possess a nearly 1:1 metal ratio regardless of their initial stoichiometry in the reaction mixture, thus demonstrating the possibility of controlling the arrangement of metal ions within the secondary building blocks in MOFs to tune their intrinsic properties such as gas affinity.