Effective
control over the crystallization of metal–organic
framework (MOF) films is of great importance not only for the performance
study and optimization in related applications but also for the fundamental
understanding of the involved reticular chemistry. Featuring many
technological advantages, electrochemical synthesis has been extensively
reported for many MOF materials but is still challenged by the production
of dense oriented films with a large-range tuning of thickness. Here,
we report a ligand-oxidation-based anodic strategy capable of synthesizing
oriented films of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D)
conductive M-catecholate MOFs (2D Cu3(HHTP)2, 2D Zn3(HHTP)2, 2D Co3(HHTP)2, 3D YbHHTP, and 2D Cu2TBA) with tunable thicknesses
up to tens of micrometers on commonly used electrodes. This anodic
strategy relies on the oxidation of redox-active catechol ligands
and follows a stepwise electrochemical-chemical reaction mechanism
to achieve effective control over crystallizing M-catecholate MOFs
into films oriented in the [001] direction. Benefiting from the electrically
conductive nature, Cu3(HHTP)2 films could be
thickened at a steady rate (17.4 nm·min–1)
from ∼90 nm to 10.7 μm via a growth mechanism differing
from those adopted in previous electrochemical synthesis of dense
MOF films with limited thickness due to the self-inhibition effect.
This anodic synthesis could be further combined with a templating
strategy to fabricate not only films with well-defined 2D features
in sizes from micrometers to millimeters but also high aspect ratio
mesostructures, such as nanorods, of Cu3(HHTP)2.