Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) contain networks of tiny pores that can trap gases, capture pollutants, and support chemical reactions. These properties make them attractive for advanced sensors and electronic devices, but their fragile structures are easily damaged by the processes used to manufacture such devices. Researchers in Japan have now developed a way to carve precise patterns into these materials at room temperature without causing the extensive structural damage normally associated with the process.
The technique, developed at Tokyo University of Science (TUS), involves filling the pores of MOFs with an ionic liquid before exposing them to a focused ion beam. In experiments, the liquid strengthened a copper-based MOF and substantially reduced damage, allowing researchers to produce intricate features only a few hundred nanometers wide.
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