Temperature-Controlled Evolution of Nanoporous MOF Crystallites into Hierarchically Porous Superstructures

Summary

Sophisticated multichannel tubular structures have long been utilized in biological systems. However, the well-controlled assembly of biomimetic materials utilizing these features still remains a challenge. Herein, we report an unexpected one-pot fabrication of biomimetic hierarchically porous metal-organic framework (MOF) tubular superstructures. This temperature-controlled structural evolution was investigated under solvothermal conditions: crystalline hollow MOF tubes can be obtained via self-templating and self-healing at higher temperatures, whereas hierarchical helical or multichannel tubular superstructures are fabricated through a helical or oriented evolution process at lower temperatures. Our work here presents the first example of tubular MOF superstructures and highlights the unexpected power of self-assembly and healing during structural evolution process.