New Breakthrough in MOF Thin Films Wrinkled Structure for Diverse Applications
TapTechNews August 11th news, a research team from Zhejiang University has developed a brand-new wrinkled MOF (Metal-Organic Framework) thin film, opening up a new route for the integrated application of such materials in fields such as separation membranes and flexible electronics, and the relevant research results were published in Science.
MOF is a new type of porous crystalline material, which has broad application prospects in gas storage, separation, catalysis, sensing, biomedicine and other fields. However, MOF powder is difficult to dissolve and melt, and the thin film is hard and brittle, making the molding and processing of such materials extremely difficult, which has always been a bottleneck hindering the integrated application of such materials.
The research team broke through the above-mentioned problems - making the MOF thin film form a wrinkled structure, which can greatly increase its active surface while also endowing it with excellent deformation ability.
The research team adopted a method based on the Turing mechanism. By changing the concentration of the reaction reagent and the thickness of the polymer coating layer, the research team prepared 5 types and 13 Turing patterns, and obtained a metal-organic framework compound thin film with a wrinkled structure and adjustable morphology.
After experimental testing, the ordinary metal-organic framework compound thin film can often bear a strain of no more than 0.3%. After introducing the wrinkled structure, it can bear a strain as high as 53.2% without being damaged and can be transferred between various substrates such as plexiglass, porous ceramics, and metal electrodes like a sticker.
Through this flexible transfer processing method, the research team prepared a gas separation membrane based on MOF materials, achieving efficient separation of hydrogen/carbon dioxide. In addition, they also transferred the wrinkled MOF thin film to a flexible electrode, manufacturing a flexible humidity sensor.
The research team said: This research proposes a new structural form for MOF thin film materials, realizes the decoupling of the thin film manufacturing process and functionalization integration, and endows such materials with a more imaginative application method. We hope our research can help low-carbon chemical industry, wearable devices, medical and health and other fields to develop.
TapTechNews attached the paper link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn8168