Abstract
Biomimetic mineralization of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exploits the use of biomolecules to control MOF crystallization processes. Here, we investigate 20 natural amino acids as biomimetic crystallization agents for the synthesis of ZIF-8 particles in aqueous solution. The morphology, size, and particle number of resultant MOF crystals were strongly dependent on the chemical nature of amino acid side chains that match closely the four classes of amino acids: nonpolar, polar neutral, polar negative and polar positive.
Highlights
Biomimetic mineralization of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exploits the use of biomolecules to control MOF crystallization processes
The estimated number of Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs)-8 particles produced per mL of precursor solution showed a trend opposite to the one observed for particle size: increasing hydrophobicity of the non-polar amino acid side chain resulted in an increase in the ZIF-8 particle number, as shown from Ala to Pro Fig. 3.46 Amino acids with aromatic side chains produced relatively high particle numbers
The total amount of Zn2+ was determined by dissolving the ZIF-8 particles collected from each sample (Table S2†), and the calculated particle numbers were in good agreement with NMR results (Fig. S2†)
Summary
Biomimetic mineralization of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exploits the use of biomolecules to control MOF crystallization processes. We investigate 20 natural amino acids as biomimetic crystallization agents for the synthesis of ZIF-8 particles in aqueous solution. The morphology, size, and particle number of resultant MOF crystals were strongly dependent on the chemical nature of amino acid side chains that match closely the four classes of amino acids: nonpolar, polar neutral, polar negative and polar positive.
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