A post-synthetic modification strategy has been used to prepare three solid base catalysts, including Er（btc）（ED）075（H2O）0.25 （2, btc = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylates, ED = 1,2-ethanediamine）, Er（btc）（PP）0.55（H20）0.45 （3, PP = piperazine）, and Er（btc）（DABCO）0.15（H2O）0.85 （4, DABCO = 1,4- diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane）, by grafting three different diamines onto the coordinatively unsaturated Er（III） ions into the channels of the desolvated lanthanide metal-organic framework （Er（otc））. The resulting metal-organic frameworks were characterized by elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption. Based on its higher loading ratio of the diamine, as well as its greater stability and porosity, catalyst 2 exhibited higher catalytic activity and reusability than catalysts 3 and 4- for the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The catalytic mechanism of 2 has also been investigated using size-selective catalysis tests.
