While metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed to expose many interesting properties, their utilization in devices often relies on the deposition at surfaces: This bonding does not only provide efficient mechanical contact, as it is e.g. useful for quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, but also electrical contact, e.g. for electrochemical or even electronic applications. In addition, the deposition at solid surfaces provides means of directed localization and orientation of the MOF materials.

Many methods for the deposition of MOFs have been developed, the most common of which rely on the direct growth of the frameworks onto the surfaces [1]. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated for a handful of systems, leading even to demonstrators e.g. for photovoltaic devices. Nevertheless, the deposition of surface-attached MOFs (SURMOFs) fails to produce well-defined surface layers, but rather results in heterogeneous and/or disordered systems.

In this talk we are going to present strategies on how SURMOF films can be deposited successfully by keeping certain parameters, such as deposition temperature [2], involved concentrations and exposure times within specific limits. The success of the respective combination of parameters can be rationalized be understanding and conjoining principles from coordination chemistry and surface chemistry [3], which typically are well-known in the respective communities but rarely taken into account by the other communities.

References:

[1] J.-L. Zhuang, A. Terfort, C. Wöll, Coord. Chem. Rev. 307 (2016) 391-424.

[2] X-J. Yu, J.-L. Zhuang, J. Scherr, T. Abu-Husein, A. Terfort, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 29 (2016) 8348-8352.

[3] J.-L. Zhuang, M. Kind, C.M. Grytz, F. Farr, M. Diefenbach, S. Tussupbayev, M.C. Holthausen, A. Terfort, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137 (2015) 8237-8243.