Oriented growth of the functionalized metal-organic framework CAU-1 on -OH- and -COOH-terminated self-assembled monolayers.

The oriented growth of the amino-functionalized metal-organic framework [Al4(OH)2(OCH3)4(H2N-bdc)3].xH2O (named CAU-1; CAU = Christian-Albrechts-University) on different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is reported. Gold substrates were modified with both 16-mercaptohexadecanol and 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid SAMs and immersed in a pre-treated crystallization solution.

Single layer growth of sub-micron metal-organic framework crystals observed by in situ atomic force microscopy.

In situ atomic force microscopy was used to directly investigate the growth processes of the oriented metal-organic framework HKUST-1 grown on self-assembled monolayers on gold.