In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 118, No. 10 ( 2021-03-09)
Abstract:
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline nanoporous materials with great potential for a wide range of industrial applications. Understanding the nucleation and early growth stages of these materials from a solution is critical for their design and synthesis. Despite their importance, the pathways through which MOFs nucleate are largely unknown. Using a combination of in situ liquid-phase and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, we show that zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 MOF nanocrystals nucleate from precursor solution via three distinct steps: 1) liquid–liquid phase separation into solute-rich and solute-poor regions, followed by 2) direct condensation of the solute-rich region into an amorphous aggregate and 3) crystallization of the aggregate into a MOF. The three-step pathway for MOF nucleation shown here cannot be accounted for by conventional nucleation models and provides direct evidence for the nonclassical nucleation pathways in open-framework materials, suggesting that a solute-rich phase is a common precursor for crystallization from a solution.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2008880118
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
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