MOFs across Dimensions

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a type of inorganic-organic hybrid porous materials, have attracted enormous research interests over the past two decades due to their extraordinary variability and richness of their chemistry and structures. The original design on MOFs is in pursuit of and high surface area, typically for gas storage. However, the properties in a simple MOF system could not meet the needs for a wide variety of advanced applications. Therefore, it is highly desirable to introduce multiplicities and impart functionalities into MOFs through materials design. In this regard, this dissertation focuses on engineering MOFs in two strategies, constructing heterostructures, fabricating thin films, and evaluating their impact on catalysis and energy conversions. The first chapter focuses on constructing a well-defined interface between materials with vast differences in structural dimensions. Another highlight of this study lies in developing characterization protocols to characterize interfacial structures. In the second part, a MOF-74 thin film with crack-free nature serves as a promising platform for the study of ion transport. The last part of this dissertation reports a new two-dimensional (2D) structure derived from UiO-66. The 2D structure was attained by limiting the coordination number and inducing anisotropic growth. The layered material could be further exfoliated and fabricated into thin films. This work presents strategies to impart functionality to MOFs with rational material design and elucidate their positive impacts on the performance of the whole system.