Poster Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Functional glassy metal–organic frameworks (#102)

Femida Vayoli 1 2 , Kaleb Miller 1 , Jingwei Hou 3 , Vicki Chen 3 , Deanna M D’Alessandro 1 2
  1. The University of Sydney, The University Of Sydney, ACT, Australia
  2. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW, Australia
  3. School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

 

 

Metal–organic framework (MOF) glasses are a class of amorphous framework materials produced by transforming crystalline MOFs into the glassy state, most commonly via thermal melting followed by rapid quenching1. To date, only a limited number of MOFs have been reported to undergo melting. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a subclass of MOFs composed of tetrahedral metal centres interconnected by imidazolate-based ligands2. Among these, ZIF‑8 is one of the most extensively studied due to its facile synthesis, high porosity, and notable thermal and chemical stability3. ZIFs are clear candidates for glass formation because they can melt without decomposing and readily vitrify due to their thermally stable, flexible metal-imidazolate networks.4

Despite these advantages, ZIF‑8 cannot be directly converted into a glass through melt quenching. Recent work has demonstrated that incorporation of an ionic liquid (IL) enables melting of ZIF‑85; however, its cobalt analogue, ZIF‑67, does not undergo melting under the same conditions6.

In this work, we develop a systematic strategy to induce melting in ZIFs such as Co‑ZIF‑8 via IL incorporation and elucidate the underlying mechanisms using a suite of physicochemical characterisation techniques, including powder X‑ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. We show that controlled substitution of zinc with varying concentrations of cobalt in ZIF‑8 facilitates melting and enhances functional properties.

Finally, we demonstrate that the resulting glassy materials exhibit diverse functional behaviour, including tunable electrochemical, magnetic, and gas sorption properties, highlighting their potential as multifunctional amorphous framework materials.

  1. Bennett, T. D., et al. Am. Chem. Soc 2016, 138 (10), 3484-3492.
  2. Bennett, T. D., et al. Nat. Rev. Mater 2018, 3 (11), 431-440.
  3. Bennett, Thomas D., et al. Nat. Commun 2015, 6(1), 8079.
  4. Zhang, C., et al. The J. Phys. Chem. Lett 2015, 6 (19), 3841-3849.
  5. Nozari, V L., et al. Nat. Commun. 2021, 12 (1), 5703.
  6. Nozari, V., et al. Adv. Mater. Technol 2022, 7 (11), 2200343.