Amorphization of Metal-Organic Framework MOF-5 by Electrical Discharge

Amorphization of various solid materials has attracted increasing attentions. We report here an amorphization of metal-organic framework-5 (MOF-5) of composition Zn(4)O(BDC)(3) (BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) using dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) treatment at ambient pressure and low gas temperature (around 120A degrees C). The irreversible amorphization was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization. The result of N(2) adsorption-desorption measurements revealed a collapse of pores, which further supported the XRD results. The destroying of part of carboxylate groups might be the main reason resulting in the amorphization of MOF-5.