Persistent honeycomb structures in porous and other two-component solids

Phenylacetylene nitriles are organic-based porous solids which have been crystallized with silver triflate salts. Phenylacetylene molecules with three capping nitrile groups radially point out from the core of the molecule engender in the coordinating silver ions as similar trigonal planar geometry. The resultant crystal structures have an overall honeycomb pattern with pore channels running parallel to one another in a hexagonal or near hexagonal fashion. To date, 21 such molecules have been prepared, all of which crystallize with silver triflate in the same honeycomb structure. They retain the structure even with sizeable modifications to the organic molecules.