To date, crystallization studies conducted in space laboratories, which are prohibitively costly and unsuitable to most research laboratories, have shown the valuable effects of microgravity during crystal growth and morphogenesis. Herein, an easy and highly efficient method is shown to achieve space‐like experimentation conditions on Earth employing custom‐made microfluidic devices to fabricate 2D porous crystalline molecular frameworks. It is confirmed that experimentation under these simulated microgravity conditions has unprecedented effects on the orientation, compactness and crack‐free generation of 2D porous crystalline molecular frameworks as well as in their integration and crystal morphogenesis. It is believed that this work will provide a new “playground” to chemists, physicists, and materials scientists that desire to process unprecedented 2D functional materials and devices.
Two novel cadmium-based 2D coordination polymers have been synthesized and characterized. Experimental results evidence that the best delamination processes occurs when weak interactions dominate the cohesion between layers, modulated by solvent molecules occluded within the crystalline network. In this case, the delamination of the crystals occurs spontaneously in water whereas nanoflakes though they can also be obtained by ultrasound-assisted liquid phase exfoliation in solvents such as ethanol or acetone. However, when interlayer solvent molecules are coordinated to metal centers, more robust structures are obtained, making very difficult the delamination process. This study shows how the physicochemical properties and structure of the bulk crystals determine the success of the exfoliation process in which the sonication method and type of solvent used are critical parameters. These systems offer also platform to study different experimental parameters and approaches (ultrasound bath vs. probe tip) on the delamination of these 2D materials.
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