Turning On Catalysis: Incorporation of a Hydrogen-Bond-Donating Squaramide Moiety into a Zr Metal–Organic Framework

Herein, we demonstrate that the incorporation of an acidic hydrogen-bond-donating squaramide moiety into a porous UiO-67 metal–organic framework (MOF) derivative leads to dramatic acceleration of the biorelevant Friedel–Crafts reaction between indole and β-nitrostyrene. In comparison, it is shown that free squaramide derivatives, not incorporated into MOF architectures, have no catalytic activity. Additionally, using the UiO-67 template, we were able to perform a direct comparison of catalytic activity with that of the less acidic urea-based analogue. This is the first demonstration of the functionalization of a heterogeneous framework with an acidic squaramide derivative.