Evolution of the Structure and Morphology of Dual-Linker ZIF-301-eIm.

Few studies have reported on the continuous evolution of dual-linker zeolitic imidazolate frameworks' (ZIFs) structure and morphology during the crystal growth process. Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel ZIF material with CHA topology (ZIF-301-eIm) via the combination of a small-sized 2-ethylimidazole (eIm) with the large-sized 5-chlorobenzimidazole ligand. A series of derivative materials with distinct structures and morphologies were obtained via two pathways: (1) insufficient amount of eIm with prolonged crystallization time (pathway A) and (2) sufficient amount of eIm with prolonged crystallization time (pathway B).