Direct Synthesis of ZIF-8 on Transmission Electron Microscopy Grids Allows Structure Analysis and 3D Reconstruction

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received strongly increased attention in recent years due to their exceptional properties and versatility [1, 2]. MOFs consist of metal nodes that are connected by organic linkers. They are both crystalline and porous and their pores can host guest molecules or even nanoparticles, opening a wide range of potential applications. Due to a large number of usable metal nodes and linkers, MOFs have a designable topology, porosity, and functionality [1] that has lead to the synthesis of around 70.000 MOFs until 2017 [3]. Of particular interest are surface-anchored films (SURMOFs), which are grown on bulk substrates. For SURMOFs, layer-by-layer growth techniques are available, which allow to precisely control the deposited amount of material and tailor the composition of the deposited material [4].