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Reversed Crystal Growth of RHO Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF)
Author(s) -
Self Katherine,
Telfer Michael,
Greer Heather F.,
Zhou Wuzong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201503437
Subject(s) - crystallography , materials science , zeolitic imidazolate framework , crystallization , transmission electron microscopy , scanning electron microscope , powder diffraction , dodecahedron , recrystallization (geology) , crystal growth , porosity , chemical engineering , crystal (programming language) , single crystal , nanotechnology , chemistry , metal organic framework , composite material , adsorption , organic chemistry , geology , engineering , paleontology , programming language , computer science
RHO zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF), Zn 1.33 (O.OH) 0.33 (nim) 1.167 (pur), crystals with a rhombic dodecahedral morphology were synthesized by a solvothermal process. The growth of the crystals was studied over time using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses, and a reversed crystal growth mechanism was revealed. Initially, precursor materials joined together to form disordered aggregates, which then underwent surface recrystallization forming a core–shell structure, in which a disordered core is encased in a layer of denser, less porous crystal. When the growth continued, the shell became less and less porous, until it was a layer of true single crystal. The crystallization then extended from the surface to the core over a six‐week period until, eventually, true single crystals were formed.