Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of hybrid materials that have been used in a variety of applications because of their high surface area and porosity. Their porosity can be impacted by missing linkers, or defects, in the materials, which typically affect the surface area and other properties of the materials. One material characteristic which has been under-explored in this regard is that of particle size. Sizing of colloidal MOFs can be essential in tailoring the material for its desired application and is most often performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and electron microscopy (EM), with the former often overestimating the size obtained with the latter. This discrepancy is often attributed to aggregation; however, we have determined that there is a correlation between porosity (changed as a function of defectiveness) and this overestimation for size measurements of the MOF, UiO-66. We demonstrate that the discrepancy between DLS and EM measurements can be tied directly to the determined defectiveness of UiO-66 nanoparticles and have developed correlations to account for the differences observed. With the correlations, the combination of defectiveness and DLS measurements can provide accurate estimates for size as determined via EM, providing further insight into the geometric size of the material without the need for time-intensive imaging. This technique can also be expanded and applied to other porous colloidal MOFs for which this discrepancy has also been observed.

Understanding particle size measurements of UiO-66 via defectiveness

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.