Size-Selective Lewis Acid Catalysis in a Microporous Metal-Organic Framework with Exposed Mn 2+ Coordination Sites

Treatment of selected aldehydes and ketones with cyanotrimethylsilane in the presence of the microporous metal-organic framework Mn3[(Mn4Cl)3BTT8(CH3OH)10]2 (1, H3BTT = 1,3,5-benzenetristetrazol-5-yl) leads to rapid conversion to the corresponding cyanosilylated products. The transformation is catalyzed by coordinatively unsaturated Mn2+ ions that serve as Lewis acids and lead to conversion yields of 98 and 90% for benzaldehyde and 1-naphthaldehyde, the highest thus far for a metal-organic framework. Larger carbonyl substrates cannot diffuse through the pores of 1, and conversion yields are much lower for these, attesting to the heterogeneity of the reaction and its dependence on guest size. The…