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Ionic liquid facilitated melting of the metal-organic framework ZIF-8.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Nozari, Vahid 
Calahoo, Courtney 
Tuffnell, Joshua M 

Abstract

Hybrid glasses from melt-quenched metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been emerging as a new class of materials, which combine the functional properties of crystalline MOFs with the processability of glasses. However, only a handful of the crystalline MOFs are meltable. Porosity and metal-linker interaction strength have both been identified as crucial parameters in the trade-off between thermal decomposition of the organic linker and, more desirably, melting. For example, the inability of the prototypical zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) ZIF-8 to melt, is ascribed to the instability of the organic linker upon dissociation from the metal center. Here, we demonstrate that the incorporation of an ionic liquid (IL) into the porous interior of ZIF-8 provides a means to reduce its melting temperature to below its thermal decomposition temperature. Our structural studies show that the prevention of decomposition, and successful melting, is due to the IL interactions stabilizing the rapidly dissociating ZIF-8 linkers upon heating. This understanding may act as a general guide for extending the range of meltable MOF materials and, hence, the chemical and structural variety of MOF-derived glasses.

Description

Keywords

3402 Inorganic Chemistry, 34 Chemical Sciences

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L015978/1)