During the last decade, the synthesis and application of metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets has received growing interest, showing unique performances for different technological applications. Despite the potential of this type of nanolamellar materials, the synthetic routes developed so far are restricted to MOFs possessing layered structures, limiting further development in this field. Here, a bottom-up surfactant-assisted synthetic approach is presented for the fabrication of nanosheets of various nonlayered MOFs, broadening the scope of MOF nanosheets application. Surfactant-assisted preorganization of the metallic precursor prior to MOF synthesis enables the manufacture of nonlayered Al-containing MOF lamellae. These MOF nanosheets are shown to exhibit a superior performance over other crystal morphologies for both chemical sensing and gas separation. As revealed by electron microscopy and diffraction, this superior performance arises from the shorter diffusion pathway in the MOF nanosheets, whose 1D channels are oriented along the shortest particle dimension.

The catalytic properties of Pd alloy thin films are enhanced by a thin sputtered PTFE coating, resulting in profound improvements in hydrogen adsorption and desorption in Pd-based and Pd-catalyzed hydrogen sensors and hydrogen storage materials. The remarkably enhanced catalytic performance is attributed to chemical modifications of the catalyst surface by the sputtered PTFE leading to a possible change in the binding strength of the intermediate species involved in the hydrogen sorption process.

We report a simple method for sensor development using polymer-MOF composite films. Nanoparticles of NH 2 -MIL-53(Al) dispersed in a Matrimid polyimide were applied as a thin film on top of capacitive sensor devices with planar electrodes. These drop-cast films act as an affinity layer. Sensing studies carried out with methanol vapor using impedance spectroscopy demonstrate that the presence of MOF enhances the overall response and lowers the detection limit compared to MOF-free polymer films and bare devices. This can be understood by additional changes of the local polarity of the composite films due to higher adsorption of methanol by the porous MOF particles. We expect that this work will stimulate the design of composite polymeric affinity layers for a range of analytes by a proper choice of dispersed MOF particles.

This work shows the enhanced effect of functional coatings on phosphate adsorption at alkaline conditions using Fe3O4NPs.

The in situ electrochemical growth of Cu benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (CuBTC) metal-organic frameworks, as an affinity layer, directly on custom-fabricated Cu interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) is described, acting as a transducer. Crystalline 5-7 µm thick CuBTC layers are grown on IDEs consisting of 100 electrodes with a width and a gap of both 50 µm and a height of 6-8 µm. These capacitive sensors are exposed to methanol and water vapor at 30 °C. The affinities show to be completely reversible with higher affinity toward water compared to methanol. For exposure to 1000 ppm methanol, a fast response is observed with a capacitance change of 5.57 pF at equilibrium. The capacitance increases in time followed diffusion-controlled kinetics (k = 2.9 mmol s g ). The observed capacitance change with methanol concentration follows a Langmuir adsorption isotherm, with a value for the equilibrium affinity K = 174.8 bar . A volume fraction f = 0.038 is occupied upon exposure to 1000 ppm of methanol. The thin CuBTC affinity layer on the Cu-IDEs shows fast, reversible, and sensitive responses to methanol and water vapor, enabling quantitative detection in the range of 100-8000 ppm.