Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely studied due to their high surface area, porous structure, and tunable building blocks. By changing components such as the metal cluster or organic ligand, the properties of the MOF can be tuned and utilized for different applications, such as gas separation, drug delivery, and light harvesting. Porphyrins are molecules known for their strong absorbance in the visible light range. By incorporating porphyrin ligands in the MOF structures, we can explore the light harvesting capabilities of the resulting porphyrin containing frameworks.<br/>Three different types of copper-based, porphyrin-containing MOFs were studied: a two dimensional (2D) paddlewheel and two three dimensional (3D) pillar paddlewheel structures. The 2D MOF consisted of a Cu-metallo-porphyrin connected by copper paddlewheels. The two 3D MOFs were made with the same porphyrin ligand but connected by a 4,4’- bipyridine and 1,4-di(pyridin-4-yl)benzene in between the layers, respectively.<br/>This study focuses on comparing optical and electrical properties of the three MOFs. These MOFs use the same 2D building block layers but differ by the presence of a pillar ligand. We explored how electron transport behaviors of these porphyrin-MOFs were affected by their crystal structures. Optical spectroscopies and a hanging drop mercury electrode (HDME) were employed to study the electron transfer within these porphyrin-MOFs. Furthermore, understanding the nanostructures of these porphyrin frameworks will be of importance for applying these semiconducting materials for light harvesting in electronic devices.

Porphyrin-containing metal-organic framework thin films for photoelectric conversion

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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