Rapid Fabrication of Metal-Organic Framework Films from Metal Substrates Using Intense Pulsed Light

In this article, we demonstrate an innovative approach for the fabrication of uniform metal-organic framework (MOF) films on Cu or Zn metal substrates by using intense pulsed light (IPL). The metal substrates are first treated with a strong oxidizing agent to convert the metal to the corresponding metal hydroxide, then MOF films are prepared by in situ growth over the metal hydroxide surface with an organic ligand by multiple IPL irradiations at room temperature and ambient conditions. The metal hydroxide absorbs the light from IPL, which discharges an excessive energy with relatively short pulse duration (milliseconds), then converts the light to thermal energy. Four well-known MOF compounds, Cu-BTC, Cu-BDC, ZIF-8, and MOF-5 film, are successfully synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effects of organic ligand concentration and IPL exposure time on MOF film synthesis are systematically investigated. The innovative fabrication method presented in this study offers many advantages such as short processing time, low cost process under ambient conditions, less use of consumable chemicals, and applicability to fabrication of other MOF films.