In this study, we utilized an ultramicroporous metal-organic framework (MOF) named [Ni3(pzdc)2(ade)2(H2O)4]·2.18H2O (where H3pzdc represents pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylic acid and ade represents adenine) for hydrogen (H2) adsorption. Upon activation, [Ni3(pzdc)2(ade)2] was obtained, and in situ carbon monoxide loading by transmission infrared spectroscopy revealed the generation of open Ni(II) sites. The MOF displayed a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 160 m2/g and a pore size of 0.67 nm. Hydrogen adsorption measurements conducted on this MOF at 77 K showed a steep increase in uptake (up to 1.93 mmol/g at 0.04 bar) at low pressure, reaching a H2 uptake saturation at 2.11 mmol/g at ∼0.15 bar. The affinity of this MOF for H2 was determined to be 9.7 ± 1.0 kJ/mol. In situ H2 loading experiments supported by molecular simulations confirmed that H2 does not bind to the open Ni(II) sites of [Ni3(pzdc)2(ade)2], and the high affinity of the MOF for H2 is attributed to the interplay of pore size, shape, and functionality.
Keywords: hydrogen uptake; hydrogen-absorbent interactions; metal–organic frameworks; silent open metal sites; ultramicropores.