Rapid Room-Temperature Synthesis of Cu3(BTC)2 Crystals in Water

In this article, a new process for the synthesis of metal-organic framework (MOF) particles that uses water as the only solvent is presented. High-quality Cu-3(BTC)(2) (BTC D 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) crystals were obtained via a facile and environmentally benign route in water at room temperature by directly mixing aqueous solutions of Cu(NO3)(2) and the methylammonium salt of H3BTC. By adjusting the concentrations of the two reactants, we could obtain polyhedral crystals (500-1000nm), micro rods (15 x 3 mu m) with hierarchical structures and rods (10 x 1 mu m) with smooth surfaces. X-ray diffractions and gas sorption measurements revealed highly crystalline particles with large BET surface areas and total pore volumes.