Reaction of AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O with 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid (H(2)bpydc) affords Al(OH)(bpydc) (1, MOF-253), the first metal-organic framework with open 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) coordination sites. The material displays a BET surface area of 2160 m(2)/g and readily complexes metals to afford, for example, 1 center dot xPdCl(2) (x = 0.08, 0.83) and 1 center dot 0.97Cu(BF4)(2). EXAFS spectroscopy performed on 1 center dot 0.83PdCl(2) reveals the expected square planar coordination geometry, matching the structure of the model complex (bpy)PdCl2. Significantly, the selectivity factor for binding CO2 over N-2 under typical flue gas conditions is observed to increase from 2.8 in 1 to 12 in 1 center dot 0.97Cu(BF4)(2).