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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Functionalized Metal-organic Frameworks
Published on: September 5, 2014
Aligning Chemical Kinetics with Crystallization Enables Millimeter-Scale Single Crystals of Conductive MOFs
Hao Chen1,2, Tongyang Zhao1, Weishan Li1
1National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
None:
Conductive metal-organic frameworks (c-MOFs) are promising functional materials, yet their atomic-level clarity remains obscured by the limited size of available single crystals (typically <10 μm). We demonstrate that the kinetic mismatch between redox-coordination processes and crystal growth is the underlying obstacle, and propose a general strategy to reduce this mismatch by balancing the ligand acid-base equilibrium to control the redox-coordination kinetics. This kinetic aligning strategy enables the growth of single crystals up to over 1 mm in seven c-MOFs, and reveals three new crystal structures with distinct electronic properties. Single-crystal devices demonstrate record-high intrinsic electron-proton dual conductivity among porous MOFs. This work establishes both a fundamental framework and a practical strategy for growing c-MOF single crystals and designing materials that integrate electronic and protonic transport.
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