Negative cooperativity upon hydrogen bond-stabilized O2 adsorption in a redox-active metal–organic framework

The design of stable adsorbents capable of selectively capturing dioxygen with a high reversible capacity is a crucial goal in functional materials development. Drawing inspiration from biological O2 carriers, we demonstrate that coupling metal-based electron transfer with secondary coordination sphere effects in the metal–organic framework Co2(OH)2(bbta) (H2bbta = 1H,5H-benzo(1,2-d:4,5-d′)bistriazole) leads to strong and reversible adsorption of O2. In particular, moderate-strength hydrogen bonding stabilizes a cobalt(III)-superoxo species formed upon O2 adsorption. Notably, O2-binding in this material weakens as a function of loading, as a result of negative cooperativity arising from electronic effects within the extended framework lattice. This unprecedented behavior extends the tunable properties that can be used to design metal–organic frameworks for adsorption-based applications. Oxygen capture is attractive for catalysis, sensing, and separations, but engineering stable and selective adsorbents is challenging. Here the authors combine metal-based electron transfer with secondary coordination sphere effects in a metal-organic framework, leading to strong and reversible O2 adsorption that also exhibits negative cooperativity.