Dual-Selective Catalysis in Dephosphorylation Tuned by Hf-Containing Metal-Organic Frameworks Mimicking Phosphatase.

Selective dephosphorylation is full of great challenges in the field of biomimetic catalysis. To mimic the active sites of protein phosphatase, Hf-OH-Hf motif-containing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were obtained and structurally characterized, which are assembled from [HfNi] cubic nanocages and exhibit good stability in various solvents and acid/base solutions. Catalytic investigations suggest as-synthesized and display accurate type-selectivity (selectively catalyzed P-O rather than S-O or C-O bonds) and position-selectivity (selectively catalyzed phosphomonoesters over phosphodiesters) for the hydrolysis of phosphoesters.