Solvent Evaporation Induced Micelle Assembly for Continuous Mesoporous Amorphous Metal-Organic Framework Films

The thin films of nanoporous materials, including zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and mesoporous materials, are promising for applications in electrodes, separations, catalysis, and sensing. While microporous materials offer high surface areas that expose numerous active sites, their limited diffusion pathways for reactants and products constrain performance. Hierarchically structured mesoporous-microporous materials offer an ideal solution by combining extensive surface areas with enhanced diffusion; however, the complexity of creating and integrating dual pore systems has hindered progress in this area, and reports on these materials remain scarce. Here, evaporation-induced methods (spin-coating and spray-coating) are introduced for the rapid synthesis of continuous mesoporous amorphous MOF thin films on solid substrates, achieved through the cooperative self-assembly of block copolymer micelles and MOF precursors (metal ions and organic linkers). The resulting mesoporous amorphous MOF films exhibit uniform pore distribution with low surface roughness. Furthermore, these films exhibit great potential for application on various substrates, benefiting from the versatility of this synthesis approach.