Highlights

MOF crystals grow in a completely ordered and predictable way once ceramic spherical microparticles– known as seeds – have been introduced into the MOF solution. In effect the seeds ‘fix’ the MOF crystals to the surface. So by controlling the placement of the seeds with supports manufactured at the DXRL-beamline at ELETTRA we can select how and where the MOFs grow – even on complex three-dimensional surfaces.

The photo : Scanning electron microscopy of Desert Rose Micro-particles used as seeds in a patterned membrane using Deep X-Ray Lithography (DXRL). a) DRMs located in a hole of the substrate after the drop-casting and drying processes. b,c) MOF-5 crystals growing within the seeded lithographed holes. The micrograph was taken after 5 h reaction time at 95 °C in the MOF- 5 growing medium. d) Substrate after 10 h reaction at 95 °C. MOF-5 crystals have grown out of he seeded holes.

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A new method to position and functionalize metal-organic framework crystals

Paolo Falcaro et al,  Nature Communications 2, 237,doi:10.1038/ncomms1234
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v2/n3/abs/ncomms1234.html

Nanofluidic transport in lab-on-chip devices requires nanochannels that are difficult to fabricate. We present an alternative to construct large areas .....
 

The photo: Pillared Planar Nanochannel layers with various chemical compositions, morphologies, and pillar and roof inner structures. a) and b) are SEM (profile cut) and TEM (top view) images respectively of a dense TiO2 PPN. Images c) to f) were taken from a similar system for which the material is composed of mesoporous 10%SiO2-90%TiO2. SEM images c) to e) display profile cuts, where one can easily observe the pillars supporting a roof of different thicknesses (obtained with various sol-gel deposition condition), but all bearing the same ordered Im3m mesoporosity induced by the F127. TEM images f) and g) are top views of the layer and reveal a clear emptiness of the pillars. The latter are organised into hexagonal organisation. Scale bar =50 nm for a), b), and f); 100 nm for c), d), and e); and 5 nm for g).
 

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M. Faustini et al. ,Chem. Mater.22, 5687 (2010)