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Molecular Surgery at Microporous MOF for Mesopore Generation and Renovation
Author(s) -
Albolkany Mohamed K.,
Liu Congyan,
Wang Yang,
Chen ChunHui,
Zhu Chaofeng,
Chen Xihai,
Liu Bo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202103104
Subject(s) - microporous material , mesoporous material , materials science , porosity , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , catalysis , engineering
Abstract Hierarchically porous MOFs (HP‐MOFs) present advantageous synergism of micro‐ and mesopore but challenging in synthetic control at molecular scale. Herein, we present the first example of reversible and controllable mesopore generation and renovation in a microporous MOF of HKUST‐1 via synthetic manipulation at molecular scale. An ammonia‐gas etching strategy is proposed to create mesopores in carboxylate‐based microporous MOFs and thus produce HP‐MOFs. Gas‐phase etching ensures uniform mesopore formation inside the MOF crystals via plane‐oriented cutting the carboxylate‐metal bonds off without affecting the crystal size and morphology. The mesopore size is controlled by the etching temperature, while the mesopore volume could be tuned by adjusting etchant pressure. The generated mesopores could be renovated using MOF precursors solutions so that to achieve controllable mesopore generation/closure, and encapsulation of the adsorbed molecules. This work demonstrates a powerful protocol for precisely tailoring and tuning the properties of MOF materials at molecular scale.