A hydrogen-bonded organic framework directed by organophosphate and 2-benzimidazolone

The assembly of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) has been one of the focuses of supramolecular chemistry, while the HOFs based on organophosphate anion and neutral tecton have rarely been reported. Herein we utilized the emerging anion coordination-driven assembly (ACDA) strategy to successfully construct one novel two dimensional (2D) porous hydrogen-bonded organic framework ( 1 ) formed by the anion coordination of neutral and commercially available 2-benzimidazolone as hydrogen bonding donor, namely ligand L 1 , with organophosphate anion (PhOPO 3 2− ) as hydrogen bonding acceptor in a single-step crystallization. The assembly of organophosphate-directed 2D HOF was elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, in which the bridged water molecule played a significant role in respect of the formation of the O H⋯O hydrogen bonds and N H⋯O hydrogen bonding. Interestingly, TEA + cations were encapsulated within the aromatic cavities of the grid-like HOF mainly through C H⋯π interactions. This study is looking forward to furnishing new insights into the construction of hydrogen-bonded molecular frameworks with porosity utilizing anion coordination chemistry.