Heteroepitaxial Growth of Isoreticular Metal−Organic Frameworks and Their Hybrid Films

Abstract

Here we report the heteroepitaxial growth of isoreticular metal−organic frameworks (IRMOFs), that is, growing one IRMOF on another at the single crystal level. The presence of an amine compound in the growth solution of shell crystals is found to be critical for the heteroepitaxial growth of the IRMOFs by preventing IRMOF core (or seed) crystals from dissolving during the epitaxial growth stage. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction proved the epitaxy of the shell crystals grown on the surface of the core crystals. IRMOF hybrid films were also prepared on porous supports by heteroepitaxially growing IRMOF-3 crystals on the surface of IRMOF-1 seed crystal layers. These results are expected to enable the preparation of a series of novel hybrid IRMOFs and their thin films and membranes with multifunctionalities and improved properties for advanced applications.