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Updated: Jul 2, 2025
11:27
Synthesis and Characterization of Functionalized Metal-organic Frameworks
Published on: September 5, 2014
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Isotope Effect-Enabled Crystal Enlargement in Metal-Organic Frameworks
Lixi Chen1, Junhao Lu1, Xiaoqi Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|February 29, 2024
Summary
Isotopic substitution is a novel method to grow larger metal-organic framework (MOF) single crystals by slowing nucleation. This technique significantly increases crystal size and improves X-ray detection limits for MOF applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Crystallography
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Synthesizing large metal-organic framework (MOF) single crystals is challenging due to rapid nucleation kinetics.
- Existing methods struggle to achieve significant size increases across diverse MOF types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a general strategy for enhancing MOF single crystal size.
- To investigate the impact of isotopic substitution on MOF crystallization and crystal growth.
Main Methods:
- Employed a simple isotopic substitution strategy to inhibit nucleation in MOF synthesis.
- Utilized in situ characterizations to analyze the effect of isotopes on crystallization kinetics and nucleation barriers.
Main Results:
- Achieved substantial increases in MOF crystal volume, ranging from 1.7- to 165-fold.
- Synthesized the largest reported MOF single crystal (2.9 cm × 0.48 cm × 0.23 cm) via a one-pot method.
- Demonstrated a 33% improvement in X-ray dose rate detection limit for isotope-enlarged crystals.
Conclusions:
- Isotopic substitution effectively retards crystallization kinetics and increases nucleation energy barriers, leading to larger crystals.
- This approach provides a general method for growing large MOF single crystals and enhances their performance in applications like X-ray detection.
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