Cu 3 (hexaiminotriphenylene) 2 : An Electrically Conductive 2D Metal–Organic Framework for Chemiresistive Sensing

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed.) Vol. 54; no. 14; pp. 4349 - 4352
• Main Authors: Campbell, Michael G., Sheberla, Dennis, Liu, Sophie F., Swager, Timothy M., Dincă, Mircea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley 27.03.2015
• Subjects: solar (photovoltaic), solid state lighting, photosynthesis (natural and artificial), charge transport, optics, synthesis (novel materials), synthesis (self-assembly), synthesis (scalable processing)
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201411854

The utility of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as functional materials in electronic devices has been limited to date by a lack of MOFs that display high electrical conductivity. Here, we report the synthesis of a new electrically conductive 2D MOF, Cu 3 (HITP) 2 (HITP=2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexaiminotriphenylene), which displays a bulk conductivity of 0.2 S cm −1 (pellet, two‐point‐probe). Devices synthesized by simple drop casting of Cu 3 (HITP) 2 dispersions function as reversible chemiresistive sensors, capable of detecting sub‐ppm levels of ammonia vapor. Comparison with the isostructural 2D MOF Ni 3 (HITP) 2 shows that the copper sites are critical for ammonia sensing, indicating that rational design/synthesis can be used to tune the functional properties of conductive MOFs.