The structural diversity and the various applications of organic frameworks have attracted much attention in recent years. Recently, halogen-bonded organic frameworks (XOFs) became a novel member of these materials, thereby facilitating the exploration of the interesting structures as well as functions. Here we present two types of [N···I+···N] connected XOFs (XOF-TPy and XOF-TPEB) with two tridentate ligands as building blocks. XOF-TPy and XOF-TPEB were characterized by 1H NMR, UV-vis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), IR, SEM, and HR-TEM. Two-dimensional (2D) structural models were established based on powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data and theoretical simulations. Further experiment showed that these XOFs were excellent iodinating agents for the substituted arylboronic acids with either the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups upon heating without any catalyst. This research not only brings further understanding to the XOFs but also extends the applications of XOFs.
Keywords: [N···I+···N] halogen bond; halogen-bonded organic frameworks; iodinating reagent; iodonium; supramolecular assembly.