Porous Bulk Research Articles

Chemomechanical Motion of a Self‐Oscillating Gel in a Protic Ionic Liquid

AbstractAn autonomous swelling–deswelling oscillation of polymer gels in a hydrated protic ionic liquid (PIL) as a proton source for the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is presented. Methylammonium hydrogen sulfate ([maH+][HSO4−]) was employed as the PIL because it provides stable redox oscillation in the BZ reaction. Due to the significantly higher pKa for [maH+][HSO4−] than those for conventional proton sources for the BZ reaction, chemomechanical oscillation can be expected under weaker acidic conditions. The self‐oscillating polymer was designed as a ternary random copolymer of N‐isopropylacrylamide, N‐(3‐aminopropyl)methacrylamide, and the Ru(bpy)3 moiety as a catalyst for the BZ reaction. The copolymer exhibited spontaneous soluble–insoluble oscillation in hydrated [maH+][HSO4−] containing NaBrO3 and malonic acid. Macroscopic swelling–deswelling oscillation of the porous bulk gel prepared by covalently connecting microgel particles was also observed.

Impacts of porous material fluid bulk properties on noise attenuation performance of cylinder shell structure based on finite element model

SummaryThe noise control method of laying acoustic blanket is adopted to construct a cylinder cell noise experimental device; a typical porous material, melamine foam (MF), is used for noise attenuation experiments in aluminum (Al) and aluminum/melamine foam (Al/MF) cylinder shells and to achieve corresponding in‐shell noise response spectrograms. Based on the Virtual Lab acoustics software, a finite element model has established for the analysis of noise in the Al/MF cylinder shell and numerical simulation computation has been conducted for the acoustic mode and in‐shell acoustic response; the correctness of the finite element model is verified via comparison with theoretical and measured data. On this basis, the impacts of porous material fluid bulk properties on the noise attenuation effect of the Al/MF cylinder shell are further studied within the frequency range of 0 ∼ 1000 Hz. It is suggested that fluid bulk properties changes pose relatively high impacts on internal noise response of a cylindrical cavity. Within low‐frequency and high‐frequency ranges, the response value of sound pressure increases with flow resistivity, while the response value of sound pressure decreases with the increases of tortuosity, porosity, flow resistivity (only for the medium frequency range), and viscous characteristic length in the medium and high frequencies ranges.

The effect of permeability on supercritical CO2 diffusion coefficient and determination of diffusive tortuosity of porous media under reservoir conditions

A general method for determining the diffusivity coefficient of supercritical CO2 in cores saturated with oil is presented in this paper. Theoretically, a mathematical model including Fick’s diffusion equation and Peng–Robinson Equation of State (PR EOS) is proposed to evaluate the mass transfer of CO2 in the cores with different permeabilities. Experimentally, the pressure-decay method is employed by monitoring the CO2 pressure in the diffusion cell during diffusion experiments. The CO2 diffusion coefficients in the cores with different permeabilities are determined when the discrepancy of the calculated and measured pressure-decay curves has been minimized. The diffusion coefficient of supercritical CO2 increases gradually with rising permeability at the range of 0.1–10 mD, and then it reaches a plateau at the permeability range of 10–300 mD. The impact of the permeability on the CO2 diffusion coefficient is attributed to the pore radius and pore structure of the cores. The Pore radius of the core whose permeability is less than 10 mD is less than 1 μm, and pore walls restrict CO2 mass transfer under such condition, which accounts for the relative low diffusion coefficient. When the permeability exceeds 10 mD, the pore radius is larger than 1 μm, and the influence of the solid boundary is negligible. Moreover, the textural coefficients of cores decrease with the permeability, which shows that the less tortuous pore structure facilitates the mass transfer process. Diffusive tortuosities for the cores with different permeabilities are determined by using the CO2 diffusion coefficients in porous media and bulk phase, which show the same trend with the pore radius distribution.

Single step fabrication of polymer/silicate porous composite membranes via water-glass induced phase inversion

ABSTRACTWater-glass, a low-cost silica precursor solution, is used to produce mostly skinned, polymer–silicate composite membranes with a porous bulk. We explore primarily Nylon 6-10/formic acid dopes where the polymer solvent is an acid, and polysulfone/DMF dope as an example of a polymer dope based on a non-acidic water-miscible solvent. Elemental distribution of silicon in cross sections suggests compositional uniformity of the formed membranes with in some cases 20 wt. % of silicate load. Membranes formed can be used either as separation media or as precursors for compact polymers reinforced with silicate particles.

Construction of three-dimensional ordered porous carbon bulk networks for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

In order to suppress the shuttling of soluble lithium polysulfides in Li-S batteries and increase the conductivity of the sulfur cathode, here we report the design and synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) highly ordered porous carbon bulk network (PCBNs), using silica (SiO2) nanospheres as removable hard templates and soluble starch as carbon source. After carbonization and template removal, the as-prepared PCBNs composed of interconnected hollow carbon balls exhibit large surface area (447.4 m2/g) and large pore volume (1.567 cm3/g), high graphitization degree and robust framework. Serving as an efficient sulfur host, PCBNs supported sulfur cathode (S@PCBNs with sulfur content of 72 wt%) delivers a high discharge capacity of 760 mA h/g after 150 cycles at 0.1 C and 455 mA h/g after 400 cycles at 1 C. The superior lithium storage properties is attributed to the novel hierarchical microstructure of the PCBNs, in which the large hollow space not only allows high loading of sulfur but also efficiently accommodates the large volumetric expansion. Moreover, the interconnected PCBNs with high conductivity can spatially confine the shuttling of soluble polysulfides and enhance the redox reaction kinetics.

Feasibility Study on the Design and Synthesis of Functional Porous Organic Polymers with Tunable Pore Structure as Metallocene Catalyst Supports.

Porous organic polymers (POPs) are highly versatile materials that find applications in adsorption, separation, and catalysis. Herein, a feasibility study on the design and synthesis of POP supports with a tunable pore structure and high ethylene-polymerization activity was conducted by the selection of functional comonomers and template agents, and control of cross-linking degree of their frameworks. Functionalized POPs with a tunable pore structure were designed and synthesized by a dispersion polymerization strategy. The functional comonomers incorporated in the poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB)-based matrix played a significant role in the porous structure and particle morphology of the prepared polymers, and a specific surface area (SSA) of 10–450 m2/g, pore volume (PV) of 0.05–0.5 cm3/g, bulk density with a range of 0.02–0.40 g/cm3 were obtained by the varied functional comonomers. Besides the important factors of thermodynamic compatibility of the selected solvent system, other factors that could be used to tune the pore structure and morphology of the POP particles have been also investigated. The Fe3O4 nanoaggregates as a template agent could help improve the porous structure and bulk density of the prepared POPs, and the highly cross-linking networks can dramatically increase the porous fabric of the prepared POPs. As for the immobilized metallocene catalysts, the pore structure of the prepared POPs had a significant influence on the loading amount of the Zr and Al of the active sites, and the typically highly porous structure of the POPs would contribute the immobilization of the active species. High ethylene-polymerization activity of 8033 kg PE/mol Zr h bar was achieved on the POPs-supported catalysts, especially when high Al/Zr ratios on the catalysts were obtained. The performance of the immobilized metallocene catalysts was highly related to the pore structure and functional group on the POP frameworks.

Carbon Thin-Layer-Protected Active Sites for ZIF-8-Derived Nitrogen-Enriched Carbon Frameworks/Expanded Graphite as Metal-Free Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction in Acidic Media

Generally, sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics on cathode limits the practical application of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this study, zeolitic-imidazolate-framework-8 (ZIF-8)-derived carbon is used to decorate expanded graphite (EG) to prepare a nitrogen-rich porous metal-free carbon framework (Z8-NCF-P/EGs) as catalyst for ORR in DMFC. Through use of a simple one-pot method, ZIF-8 is firmly anchored on EG to obtain the ZIF-8/EG precursor via a polyvinypyrrolidone (PVP)-assisted route. After carbonization and acid etching, the formed micromesoporous structure contributes to the high specific surface area and well-distributed porous 3D bulk networks of Z8-NCF-P/EGs, which provide short diffusion paths for rapid oxygen and mass transfer kinetics. Z8-NCF-P/EG-10 (ZIF-8/EG weight ratio of 10) exhibits activity comparable to that of commercial Pt/C (10 wt %) and methanol tolerance and stability much higher than those of Pt/C in acidic electrolyte. EG contributes to the uniform distri...

Influence of Tcnq Loading on the Mechanical Properties of Metal-Organic Framework Films

Bulk Metal-organic-framework (MOF) materials are designed scaffold-like compounds that consist of metal ions connected by organic ligands, forming highly ordered porous structures. Bulk MOFs yield typically powders with micron sized crystallites, which limit their applications. Many practical applications require instead suitably uniform MOF films. In recent years, efforts to grow highly oriented Surface Anchored Metal-Organic Framework (SURMOF) films of Cu3(BTC)2 (BTC: benzenetricarboxylic acid), known as HKUST-1 MOF, have been successful by utilizing a liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) spray method on surface functionalized gold coated silicon substrates. Originally MOFs were intended for gas storage due to high storage capacity inside the porous MOF bulk material. New potential device applications in thermoelectrics and microelectronics [1,2] were explored based on the premise that the electrical properties of the otherwise insulating MOF can be custom tailored by loading the porous MOF structure with metal clusters. For modulating the electrical conductivity of MOF films the most effective method is to infiltrate guest molecules inside the porous framework to transport ions, and hence to modulate the electrical properties of the host framework. Early work focused on the mechanical properties of pristine SURMOF films [3,4]. In this study, we have investigated the influence of loading pristine highly oriented MOF films with TCNQ on the mechanical properties by utilizing nanoindentation methods to measure the hardness and modulus of SURMOF films with and without TCNQ loading. Our findings reveal that undoped pristine SURMOF samples are relatively harder with an intrinsic hardness of ~ 1.6 GPa in the upper third of the MOF film. The hardness of the pristine SURMOF samples is steadily increasing as a function of the penetration depth. The hardness is approaching the substrate Si hardness as the indenter tip approaches the substrate. The measured modulus values of the pristine SURMOF samples are also steadily increasing as a function of the indentation depth. However, the TCNQ loaded SURMOF samples differ markedly and do not show a substrate effect. Interestingly the loaded SURMOF films are much softer and exhibit a constant hardness as a function of depth of ~ 0.5 GPa. As the indenter approaches the Si substrate there is no measurable change in the constant hardness and an absence of a substrate effect. The modulus values of TCNQ loaded SURMOF films is also significantly lower compared with the pristine sample and remains constant as a function of indenter penetration depth. Thus, loading the porous scaffolding of SURMOF films with TCNQ did not only alter the electrical conductivity but triggers marked changes in the mechanical properties, i.e., softening effect. This softening effect in TCNQ infiltrated MOF films can be accounted for by a widening of the lattice constant und the concomitant introduction of lattice defects that weaken the crystal and lead to a much lower hardness.

Heating and melting of bulk lump materials

Porous materials, including bulk materials, are widely used for cleaning liquid and gaseous media from mechanical impurities, as heat insulating materials, working bodies in various technologies of mechanical engineering, power engineering, metallurgy, chemistry, petroleum chemistry, food industry, pharmacology, etc. The aim of the work is mathematical modeling of heat transfer in disperse bulk media, their melting, engineering assessment of a number of indicators essential in practice. A bulk disperse medium consisting of solid particles (lumps) of different shapes, sizes and composition, randomly arranged relative to each other, is considered. The article provides relationships for determining effective density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, taking into account radiant heat transfer between particles (lumps) as applied to porous bulk materials. Using the obtained relationships, the model problem of heating and subsequent melting of the disperse medium under consideration is solved. The melting rate and the relaxation time during which the system consisting of melt and lumps comes to thermodynamic equilibrium are assessed. Though only one-dimensional thermal processes are considered in this paper, the proposed approach can be extended to two- and three-dimensional cases and applied for mathematical description of thermal behavior of nonmetallic porous materials. It is these materials that are mainly used for thermal insulation. Their behavior, especially in extreme, abnormal conditions is of great interest.

Fabrication of MWCNTs-polysulfone composite membranes and its application in the removal of bisphenol A

To explore the efficient removal of dissolved organic pollutant molecules from water, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-polysulfone (PSF) composite membranes with high CNTs hybrid content were fabricated, and the adsorption and ultrafiltration behaviors towards bisphenol A (BPA) were explored in this study. The MWCNTs-PSF composite membranes were composed of a dense top surface and a porous bulk layer with MWCNTs separately embedding in or hanging on the polymer matrix. The pore size of the top surface centralized in 30–70 nm. The pure water flux of MWCNTs-PSF membranes was found to be variable in accordance with the surface pore size. The adsorption capacity of membranes towards BPA from water was remarkably enhanced by the composite of MWCNTs, and the maximum adsorption capacity of M-CNT15 was more than twice of that of M-PSF. In the filtration process, the MWCNTs-PSF composite membranes exhibited obviously superior retaining capacities to the neat PSF membrane. The M-CNT15 membrane maintained 20% rejection to BPA molecules in steady-state, comparison to nearly zero rejection of M-PSF under the same operating conditions.

Reduction of hydrogen content in deuterium plasma with mixed graphite and tungsten divertors in EAST

Reduction of hydrogen content in deuterium-fueled fusion plasmas is important not only to avoid diluting reacting core deuterons but also so as to allow the optimization of hydrogen-minority-heating efficiency in those fusion devices which employ ion-cyclotron-radio-frequency heating systems. In EAST, the amount of hydrogen released from plasma-facing components has been shown to depend strongly on both their composition and their temperature. As measured by thermal desorption spectroscopy, the hydrogen inventory in graphite – used in EAST as lower divertor material – has been determined to be >25 times larger than that of tungsten which comprises the upper divertor. This difference in hydrogen inventory is attributed mostly to the intrinsically porous nature of bulk graphite. Thus the main source of hydrogen release into EAST discharges was identified as the graphite tiles used in the lower divertor. The hydrogen content in EAST plasmas were clearly reduced by first employing a high-temperature vacuum baking of all graphite tiles and then renewing a 100–200 μm thick SiC coating before an EAST experimental run campaign. Subsequent active surface conditioning of all wall components with elemental silicon and then with elemental lithium were seem to again reduce the plasma hydrogen content significantly – with lithium proving to be more effective than silicon. Combining these several techniques, H/(H + D) levels as low as ∼3% have been achieved in EAST discharges.Additionally, the effects of lithium thickness on H surface implantation and retention has been re-examined semi-quantitatively using data from a previous run campaign. These data suggest that relatively thick Li films coated on the first wall can effectively isolate the rich source of hydrogen stored in the porous bulk of the underlying graphite from the deuterium-fueled plasma so as to minimize hydrogen release.Finally an operational maneuver whereby a diverted plasma is repetitively switched from an upper single null configuration to a lower single null configuration is presented. This switching maneuver has been shown to suppress hydrogen influx into a 35s-long EAST discharge by alternately mitigating the rise in divertor temperature.

Sandwich-structured composite separators with an anisotropic pore architecture for highly safe Li-ion batteries

Abstract Safety and electrochemical performance are key concerns for porous separators used in Li-ion batteries. We demonstrate the potential application of a sandwich-structured composite separator (SSCS) for highly safe Li-ion batteries, which is comprised of a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) porous bulk and a trapped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabrics layer. The as-prepared SSCS possesses an anisotropic porous structure with large inner pores while small surface ones arising from a nonuniform cooling process along the thickness direction during thermally induced phase separation. The distinctive structure of SSCS gives rise to excellent properties concerning security, such as electrolyte retention, mechanical strength, thermal stability and thermal-shutdown ability. Furthermore, the higher ionic conductivity as well as lower interfacial impedance of SSCS endows the resulting LiFePO4/Li battery with enhanced discharge capacity and cycle stability compared to the cell assembled by the commercialized Celgard 2400 separator. Therefore, the SSCS is expected to be a promising candidate for Li-ion batteries with high cell performances and enhanced safety.

A parametric study of multiscale transport phenomena and performance characteristics of capacitive deionization systems

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a relatively novel desalination technology which uses electrically charged porous electrodes to remove ions from low salinity water streams. The interplay between the micro- and macroscale transport mechanisms in the porous electrodes and bulk flow of the CDI unit dictates the concentration profile at the exit. A thorough understanding of these interactions is important towards achieving high-efficiency systems. Through permutation of the associated transport time constants, we conduct a parametric study to investigate the coupling of multiscale phenomena in CDI. Moreover, we propose a new multi-cycle arrangement to further improve the desalination performance of a given saline solution. In these systems, the regeneration feed stream used for each cycle highly affects the efficiency of the whole system, as it directly affects the water recovery ratio, the total duration of the process, and the desalination performance of the next cycle. We propose three regeneration schemes, with different regeneration feed streams to enhance the desalination/regeneration performance of the multi-cycle arrangements. To obtain comprehensive characterization of desalination and regeneration performances of different units, we introduce new inclusive metrics that encompass different aspects of the system. The results indicate trade-offs between desalination performance and energy efficiency of the proposed arrangements.

Facile approach to synthesis the curly leaf-like Nano-sheets of g-C3N4 with enhanced photocatalytic ability

Exfoliation of porous g-C3N4 has been proved a very effective way to prepare g-C3N4 nanosheets (2D layered materials). Here, we present an environment-friendly, high-efficiency and easy scale-up preparation method of curly leaf-like g-C3N4 nanosheets (CL-CN) by liquid-phase exfoliation of honeycomb-like porous g-C3N4 (HP-CN). Two-dimensional curly nanosheets have induced excellent physicochemical properties, i.e. large surface area, high fluorescence quantum efficiency, wide band gap and good water-dispersibility. The photocatalytic performance of CL-CN in degradation of RhB under visible light is much better than that of honeycomb-like porous g-C3N4 and bulk g-C3N4. The improved photocatalytic performance of CL-CN is well explained by the improved physicochemical properties and photocatalytic mechanism. In addition, CL-CN being a 2D layered material with excellent photoluminescence characteristic and non-toxic behavior can be widely applied in bio-medicine, bio-imaging and biosensors field.

In vitro enteroid-derived three-dimensional tissue model of human small intestinal epithelium with innate immune responses.

There is a need for functional in vitro 3D human intestine systems that can bridge the gap between conventional cell culture studies and human trials. The successful engineering in vitro of human intestinal tissues relies on the use of the appropriate cell sources, biomimetic scaffolds, and 3D culture conditions to support vital organ functions. We previously established a compartmentalized scaffold consisting of a hollow space within a porous bulk matrix, in which a functional and physiologically relevant intestinal epithelium system was generated using intestinal cell lines. In this study, we adopt the 3D scaffold system for the cultivation of stem cell-derived human small intestinal enteriods (HIEs) to engineer an in vitro 3D model of a nonstransformed human small intestinal epithelium. Characterization of tissue properties revealed a mature HIE-derived epithelium displaying four major terminally differentiated epithelial cell types (enterocytes, Goblet cells, Paneth cells, enteroendocrine cells), with tight junction formation, microvilli polarization, digestive enzyme secretion, and low oxygen tension in the lumen. Moreover, the tissue model demonstrates significant antibacterial responses to E. coli infection, as evidenced by the significant upregulation of genes involved in the innate immune response. Importantly, many of these genes are activated in human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), implicating the potential application of the 3D stem-cell derived epithelium for the in vitro study of host-microbe-pathogen interplay and IBD pathogenesis.

Capillary Effect-Enabled Water Electrolysis for Enhanced Electrochemical Ozone Production by Using Bulk Porous Electrode.

A significant overpotential necessary for the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the most serious disadvantages in water electrolysis, which, on the contrary, gives the probability to electrochemically produce ozone alternative to the common corona discharge. To effectively suppress the competitive OER and improve gaseous ozone escaping, here we present a capillary effect-enabled electrolysis strategy by employing an unusual partial-submersed mode of anode composed of a β-PbO2 cuboids-loaded bulk porous Pb, and realize a much enhanced electrocatalytic gaseous ozone production in comparison to the cases of solid Pb counterpart and/or usual submersion operation. Detailed study reveals a capillary pressure-induced "molecular oxygen-locking effect" in the electrolyte fully filled in the porous structure of the electrode area above the electrolyte pool level, which unexpectedly leads to the production of unusual ·O3- intermediate. Distinctive from the traditional electrochemical ozone production (EOP) mechanism dependent on the essential reaction between the atomic oxygen and molecular oxygen, the ·O3- intermediate generation favors the EOP process in the special case where the capillary action is relevant for a porous bulk anode.

Mixed-Metal–Organic Framework Self-Template Synthesis of Porous Hybrid Oxyphosphides for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Developing an efficient, stable yet cost-effective electrocatalyst is the key link along the path to hydrogen fuels produced by water splitting. The current bottleneck in the water electrolysis technology is the sluggish oxygen-evolving reaction (OER) which is also central to the rechargeable metal-air batteries. Herein, we report a promising mixed-metal-organic framework (MMOF) self-template strategy to synthesize CoFe hybrid oxyphosphides with highly porous morphology. Aided by the porous hybrid bulk structure beneficial to fast-ion diffusion to abundant highly active sites, the as-synthesized Co3FePxO exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity toward OER, with an overpotential of 291 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a low Tafel slope of 85 mV dec-1. With the underpinnings of MMOF maintaining the structural rigidity and stability, the material also showed long life for OER without discernible activity decay.

Solid-State Explosive Reaction for Nanoporous Bulk Thermoelectric Materials.

High-performance thermoelectric materials require ultralow lattice thermal conductivity typically through either shortening the phonon mean free path or reducing the specific heat. Beyond these two approaches, a new unique, simple, yet ultrafast solid-state explosive reaction is proposed to fabricate nanoporous bulk thermoelectric materials with well-controlled pore sizes and distributions to suppress thermal conductivity. By investigating a wide variety of functional materials, general criteria for solid-state explosive reactions are built upon both thermodynamics and kinetics, and then successfully used to tailor material's microstructures and porosity. A drastic decrease in lattice thermal conductivity down below the minimum value of the fully densified materials and enhancement in thermoelectric figure of merit are achieved in porous bulk materials. This work demonstrates that controlling materials' porosity is a very effective strategy and is easy to be combined with other approaches for optimizing thermoelectric performance.

Direct Laser Writing of Low‐Density Interdigitated Foams for Plasma Drive Shaping

AbstractMonolithic porous bulk materials have many promising applications ranging from energy storage and catalysis to high energy density physics. High resolution additive manufacturing techniques, such as direct laser writing via two photon polymerization (DLW‐TPP), now enable the fabrication of highly porous microlattices with deterministic morphology control. In this work, DLW‐TPP is used to print millimeter‐sized foam reservoirs (down to 0.06 g cm−3) with tailored density‐gradient profiles, where density is varied by over an order of magnitude (for instance from 0.6 to 0.06 g cm−3) along a length of <100 µm. Taking full advantage of this technology, however, is a multiscale materials design problem that requires detailed understanding of how the different length scales, from the molecular level to the macroscopic dimensions, affect each other. The design of these 3D‐printed foams is based on the brickwork arrangement of 100 × 100 × 16 µm3 log‐pile blocks constructed from sub‐micrometer scale features. A block‐to‐block interdigitated stitching strategy is introduced for obtaining high density uniformity at all length scales. Finally, these materials are used to shape plasma‐piston drives during ramp‐compression of targets under high energy density conditions created at the OMEGA Laser Facility.

Influence of TCNQ Loading on the Mechanical Properties of Metal-Organic Framework Films

Bulk Metal-organic-framework (MOF) materials are designed scaffold-like compounds that consist of metal ions connected by organic ligands, forming highly ordered porous structures. Bulk MOFs yield typically powders with micron sized crystallites, which limit their applications. Many practical applications require instead suitably uniform MOF films. In recent years, efforts to grow highly oriented Surface Anchored Metal-Organic Framework (SURMOF) films of Cu3(BTC)2 (BTC: benzenetricarboxylic acid), known as HKUST-1 MOF, have been successful by utilizing a liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) spray method on surface functionalized gold coated silicon substrates. Originally MOFs were intended for gas storage due to high storage capacity inside the porous MOF bulk material. New potential device applications in thermoelectrics and microelectronics [1,2] were explored based on the premise that the electrical properties of the otherwise insulating MOF can be custom tailored by loading the porous MOF structure with metal clusters. For modulating the electrical conductivity of MOF films the most effective method is to infiltrate guest molecules inside the porous framework to transport ions, and hence to modulate the electrical properties of the host framework. Early work focused on the mechanical properties of pristine SURMOF films [3,4]. In this study, we have investigated the influence of loading pristine highly oriented MOF films with TCNQ on the mechanical properties by utilizing nanoindentation methods to measure the hardness and modulus of SURMOF films with and without TCNQ loading. Our findings reveal that undoped pristine SURMOF samples are relatively harder with an intrinsic hardness of ~ 1.6 GPa in the upper third of the MOF film. The hardness of the pristine SURMOF samples is steadily increasing as a function of the penetration depth. The hardness is approaching the substrate Si hardness as the indenter tip approaches the substrate. The measured modulus values of the pristine SURMOF samples are also steadily increasing as a function of the indentation depth. However, the TCNQ loaded SURMOF samples differ markedly and do not show a substrate effect. Interestingly the loaded SURMOF films are much softer and exhibit a constant hardness as a function of depth of ~ 0.5 GPa. As the indenter approaches the Si substrate there is no measurable change in the constant hardness and an absence of a substrate effect. The modulus values of TCNQ loaded SURMOF films is also significantly lower compared with the pristine sample and remains constant as a function of indenter penetration depth. Thus, loading the porous scaffolding of SURMOF films with TCNQ did not only alter the electrical conductivity but triggers marked changes in the mechanical properties, i.e., softening effect. This softening effect in TCNQ infiltrated MOF films can be accounted for by a widening of the lattice constant und the concomitant introduction of lattice defects that weaken the crystal and lead to a much lower hardness.