Metal-organic framework templated electrodeposition of functional gold nanostructures

S.D. Worrall, M.A. Bissett, P.I. Hill, A.P. Rooney, S.J. Haigh, M.P. Attfield, R.A.W. Dryfe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Utilizing a pair of quick, scalable electrochemical processes, the permanently porous MOF HKUST-1 was electrochemically grown on a copper electrode and this HKUST-1-coated electrode was used to template electrodeposition of a gold nanostructure within the pore network of the MOF. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that a proportion of the gold nanostructures exhibit structural features replicating the pore space of this ∼1.4 nm maximum pore diameter MOF, as well as regions that are larger in size. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the electrodeposited gold nanostructure, produced under certain conditions of synthesis and template removal, is sufficiently inter-grown and mechanically robust to retain the octahedral morphology of the HKUST-1 template crystals. The functionality of the gold nanostructure within the crystalline HKUST-1 was demonstrated through the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) detection of 4-fluorothiophenol at concentrations as low as 1 μM. The reported process is confirmed as a viable electrodeposition method for obtaining functional, accessible metal nanostructures encapsulated within MOF crystals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)361-369
JournalElectrochimica Acta
Volume222
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Dec 2016

Bibliographical note

© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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