What is it about?
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and in particular zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), are amongst the most well studied materials in modern chemistry. MOFs emerged as an explicit subfield of chemistry in the late 1980s and 1990s. However,much foundational work was accomplished in earlier decades. Here, we detail the structural and gas-adsorption characterization of a ZIF that was widely reported in the early 1960s. We conclude that the true origin of ZIFs lies with a copper(II) framework discovered more than 60 years ago that has been overlooked by recent literature.
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Why is it important?
[Cu(im)2]-B is a permanently microporous polymeric coordination network that predates the first reported Zn(II)imidazolate frameworks by four decades. In this light, it deserves recognition as the first ZIF published in the chemical literature.
Perspectives
MOF chemistry has historical roots that are deeper than its modern prominence may suggest; other unrecognized materials may yet be hiding in obscure places
Shane Telfer
Massey University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The overlooked ZIF: reviving [Cu(imidazolato)
2
] from 1960s literature, IUCrJ, October 2026, International Union of Crystallography,
DOI: 10.1107/s2052252526008912.
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