Control of structural flexibility of layered-pillared metal-organic frameworks anchored at surfaces

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 346
• Main Authors: Wannapaiboon, Suttipong, Schneemann, Andreas, Hante, Inke, Tu, Min, Epp, Konstantin, Semrau, Anna Lisa, Sternemann, Christian, Paulus, Michael, Baxter, Samuel J, Kieslich, Gregor, Fischer, Roland A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 21.01.2019; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Anchoring; Copper; Crystallites; Crystals; Flexibility; Liquid phase epitaxy; Liquid phases; Metal-organic frameworks; Metals; Phase transitions; Powder; Substrates; Thin films; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08285-5

Flexible metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are structurally flexible, porous, crystalline solids that show a structural transition in response to a stimulus. If MOF-based solid-state and microelectronic devices are to be capable of leveraging such structural flexibility, then the integration of MOF thin films into a device configuration is crucial. Here we report the targeted and precise anchoring of Cu-based alkylether-functionalised layered-pillared MOF crystallites onto substrates via stepwise liquid-phase epitaxy. The structural transformation during methanol sorption is monitored by in-situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, spatially-controlled anchoring of the flexible MOFs on the surface induces a distinct structural responsiveness which is different from the bulk powder and can be systematically controlled by varying the crystallite characteristics, for instance dimensions and orientation. This fundamental understanding of thin-film flexibility is of paramount importance for the rational design of MOF-based devices utilising the structural flexibility in specific applications such as selective sensors.