Creating Giant Secondary Building Layers via Alkali-Etching Exfoliation for Precise Synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Abstract

Because of the disparity in dative bond strength, three-dimensional (3D) bulky metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based on the azolate layers and carboxylate pillars can be exfoliated into ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets via alkali-etching exfoliation method. The obtained MOFs nanosheets, as giant secondary building layers (SBLs), can assemble with different linkers to form a series of 3D MOFs, thus facilely incorporating diverse functional groups into structures. The strategy reported here presents a low-cost, convenient, and high-throughput method to prepare ultrathin 2D nanosheets not only for potential applications but also for the generation of giant SBLs for rational MOF construction.