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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jon Bell, Emeritus Professor Mark ThomasORCiD
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by American Chemical Society, 2018.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Direct synthesis of the ultrathin and discrete 2D MOF nanosheets is extremely challenging. Herein, we present the first facile, continuous bottom-up strategy for preparing ultrathin (~3 nm) 2D MOF nanosheets with high crystallinity comprising of assemblies of a few layers. Unlike conventional solvothermal synthetic methods for 2D MOFs, the weak interlayer interaction in the vertical direction of the 2D materials is restricted under microdroplet flow reaction conditions. 2D MOF nanosheets with a large lateral area and a few layers thick were directly synthesized by suppressing the lamellar stacking of the nanosheets under the dynamic growth conditions. The 2D MOF nanosheets were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, gas adsorption and light scattering techniques, which were supported by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and molecular simulations. The properties of the 'as-prepared' 2D MOF nanosheets were compared with the corresponding pristine solvothermal MOF with extended structure perpendicular to the laminar assembly. The ultrathin 2D MOF nanosheets have greater external surface area, resulting in a far higher gas adsorption and colloidal suspensions that exhibit the Tyndall effect. This synthetic methodology for 2D MOF nanosheets has potential for scale-up of materials production.
Author(s): Wang Y, Li L, Yan L, Gu X, Dai P, Liu D, Bell JG, Zhao G, Zhao XB, Thomas KM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Chemistry of Materials
Year: 2018
Volume: 30
Issue: 9
Pages: 3048-3059
Print publication date: 08/05/2018
Online publication date: 09/04/2018
Acceptance date: 09/04/2018
Date deposited: 10/04/2018
ISSN (print): 0897-4756
ISSN (electronic): 1520-5002
Publisher: American Chemical Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b00765
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b00765
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