Study of crystallinity and orientation of 2D covalent organic framework thin films

Our group has discovered that convection-free mass transport at low Grashof (Gr) numbers in microfluidic devices with confined reaction spaces enables the direct synthesis of crystalline framework films on substrates under mild conditions—specifically, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Additionally, this technology allows for the unprecedented fabrication of covalent-organic and metal-organic framework heterostructures. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize film fabrication, as these crystalline materials have broad applicability in key areas such as carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR) and field-effect transistors (FETs). However, despite our success in film synthesis, we have faced challenges in characterizing their crystalline properties, limiting our ability to correlate these features with their performance in various applications. To address this, we require highly energetic X-ray beams to fully elucidate the orientation and crystallinity of these films, which is essential for establishing the critical relationship between their structural properties and functional performance.