Superprotonic Conductivity of MOFs Confining Zwitterionic Sulfamic Acid as Proton Source and Conducting Medium

Abstract

A few metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which typically use strong acids as proton sources, display superprotonic conductivity (approximate to 10(-1) S cm(-1)); however, they are rare due to the instability of MOFs in highly acidic conditions. For the first time, we report superprotonic conductivity using a moderately acidic guest, zwitterionic sulfamic acid (HSA), which is encapsulated in MOF-808 and MIL-101. HSA acts not only as a proton source but also as a proton-conducting medium due to its extensive hydrogen bonding ability and zwitterion effect. A new sustained concentration gradient method results in higher HSA encapsulation compared to conventional methods, producing 10HSA@MOF-808-(bSA)(2) and 8HSA@MIL-101. These MOFs show impressive superprotonic conductivity of 2.47x10(-1) and 3.06x10(-1) S cm(-1), respectively, at 85 degrees C and 98 % relative humidity, and maintain stability for 7 days.