Creating Giant Secondary Building Layers via Alkali-Etching Exfoliation for Precise Synthesis of Metal–Organic Frameworks

Because
of the disparity in dative bond strength, three-dimensional
(3D) bulky metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based on the azolate
layers and carboxylate pillars can be exfoliated into ultrathin two-dimensional
(2D) nanosheets via alkali-etching exfoliation method. The obtained
MOFs nanosheets, as giant secondary building layers (SBLs), can assemble
with different linkers to form a series of 3D MOFs, thus facilely
incorporating diverse functional groups into structures. The strategy
reported here presents a low-cost, convenient, and high-throughput
method to prepare ultrathin 2D nanosheets not only for potential applications
but also for the generation of giant SBLs for rational MOF construction.