Acoustomicrofluidic Defect Engineering and Ligand Exchange in ZIF-8 Metal-Organic Frameworks

A way through which the properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be tuned is by engineering defects into the crystal structure. Given its intrinsic stability and rigidity, however, it is difficult to introduce defects into zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs)-and ZIF-8, in particular-without compromising crystal integrity. In this work, it is shown that the acoustic radiation pressure as well as the hydrodynamic stresses arising from the oscillatory flow generated by coupling high frequency (MHz-order) hybrid surface and bulk acoustic waves into a suspension of ZIF-8 crystals in a liquid pressure transmitting medium is capable of driving permanent structural changes in their crystal lattice structure. Over time, the enhancement in the diffusive transport of guest molecules into the material's pores as a consequence is shown to lead to expansion of the pore framework, and subsequently, the creation of dangling-linker and missing-linker defects, therefore offering the possibility of tuning the type and extent of defects engineered into the MOF through the acoustic exposure time. Additionally, the practical utility of the technology is demonstrated for one-pot, simultaneous solvent-assisted ligand exchange under ambient conditions, for sub-micron-dimension ZIF-8 crystals and relatively large ligands-more specifically 2-aminobenzimidazole-without compromising the framework porosity or overall crystal structure.