Materials with surfaces that can be switched from high/superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity are useful for myriad applications. Herein, we report a metal-organic framework (MOF) assembled from Zn ions, 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, and a hydrophobic carborane-based linker. The MOF crystal-surface can be switched between hydrophobic and superhydrophilic through a chemical treatment to remove some of the building blocks.

The existence of a dihydrogen bond (S-H...H-B) and its combination with a C-H...S hydrogen bond in an unusual cooperative effect are demonstrated from a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. This cooperative effect seems to be responsible for self-assembly of mercaptane-metallacarborane complexes such as closo-[3-Ru(eta6-C6H6)-8-HS-1,2-C2B9H10] (1) and closo-[3-Co(eta5-C5H5)-8-HS-1,2-C2B9H10] (3), which present identical supramolecular two-dimensional polymeric networks. The findings, besides documenting structurally the first S-H...(H-B)2 dihydrogen bond and the unconventional cooperative ability of a boron-attached SH group, prove that substituted carboranes have the potential to serve as building blocks for assembling complex structures.

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