Defect Engineering in Metal-Organic Framework Nanocrystals: Implications for Mechanical Properties and Performance.

ABSTRACT: The growth process of metal-organic framework (MOF) nanocrystals defines their properties and functions. However, defects may be prevalent during the crystallization of even seemingly perfect MOFs, such as zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), and yet direct probing of such structural defects has been challenging because of the lack of nanoscale techniques to locally examine individual nanocrystals. Here, we directly study local defects, such as missing linkers or metal vacancies, in ZIF-8 nano- and microcrystals with near-field IR nanospectroscopy combined with density functional theory calculations. We track the chemical changes during crystallization and show that structural defects like zinc cations that are bound to molecules of the reactant gradually disappear with ripening of th

SUBMITTER: Moslein AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9150067 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature