Authors:
S. Sakaida, K. Otsubo, O. Sakata, C. Song, A. Fujiwara, M. Takata and H. Kitagawa

Abstract:
The fabrication of porous coordination frameworks in thin-film forms has been investigated intensively with a view to using their structural response to external stimuli and guests for potential nanotechnological applications, for example as membranes for gas separation. Here we report a coordination framework that exhibits a dynamic guest-sorption behaviour in a nanometre-sized thin-film form (16 nm thick), yet shows no guest uptake in the bulk. Highly oriented crystalline thin films of this coordination framework—which consists of interdigitated two-dimensional layers of {Fe(py)2[Pt(CN)4]} (py, pyridine)—were fabricated through liquid-phase layer-by-layer synthesis. The resulting thin film exhibited a clear guest uptake with a structural transformation of the gate-opening type as characterized by in situ X-ray diffraction. Increasing the film’s thickness markedly suppressed this behaviour. We envisage that such a crystal-downsizing effect may be observed with other coordination frameworks, and may be of use to develop functional materials, for example, for switching or sensing devices.

Link:
Nat. Chem. 8 (2016) 377 – 383.
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2469