Node-Solution Microenvironment Governs the Selectivity of Thioanisole Oxidation within Catalytic Zr-Based Metal-Organic Framework

Lewis acidic metal oxides, including zirconia (ZrO2), are catalytically active toward oxidative reactions in the presence of sacrificial oxidants like t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP). The structural ambiguity and heterogeneity of the ZrO2 surface impose challenges to chemists in understanding the reaction mechanism down to atomic-level precision. The inorganic, Zr-oxo nodes of many crystalline metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) structurally mimic ZrO2. Herein, we report three novel findings: (A) Zr-based MOF, Zr-MOF-808 is catalytically competent in activating TBHP to induce oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reactions to a model substrate, thioanisole, at room temperature, (B) its reaction mechanism can be derived with greater structural precision owing to the crystallinity of the MOF, and (C) the node-binding agent and other reaction conditions significantly impact the selectivity between the singly oxidized methyl phenyl sulfoxide vs the doubly oxidized sulfone. These findings suggest that both the activity and selectivity of OAT reactions within Zr-MOF-808 are governed by the chemistry occurring at the interface of the node and the surrounding reaction medium. Implications of these findings in OAT reactions and other MOF/metal oxide-catalyzed relevant catalysis are discussed.