Simple, Scalable Mechanosynthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks Using Liquid-Assisted Resonant Acoustic Mixing (LA-RAM)

We present a methodology for the rapid and readily scalable mechanosynthesis of diverse metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the absence of milling media, typically required for other types of mechanochemical syntheses. We demonstrate the use of liquid-assisted resonant acoustic mixing (LA-RAM) methodology for the synthesis of two- and three-dimensional MOFs based on Zn, Co(II) and Cu(II), including single- and mixed-ligand systems, imidazolate or carboxylate ligands. The LA-RAM approach also allowed the synthesis of the ZIF-L, a framework never previously obtained in a solventless environment, as well as its Co(II) analogue. Straightforward scale-up from milligrams to at least 25 grams is demonstrated using ZIF-L as the model.