Room Temperature Synthesis of Cu-BTC Coordination Polymer and Metal-Organic Framework by pH Control

Synthesis of crystalline materials is crucial in the field of coordination chemistry. In the present work, the reaction between the copper and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (BTC) ligand is controlled by adjusting the pH of the reaction mixture to synthesize two crystalline structures: metal-organic framework HKUST-1 and one-dimensional coordination polymer Cu(BTC).3H 2 O. Single crystals of both structures are studied by multi-laser Raman spectroscopy. It is found that both crystals exhibit photoluminescence. Also, the transformation of HKUST-1 into Cu(BTC).3H 2 O is demonstrated. This work provides impetus for researchers to synthesize large metal-organic crystals.