01 January 2015 8 8K Report

Aiming on dispersing MOF particles in a suitable polymer matrix for thermal desorption and/or preconcentration, I am looking for a polymer that fulfills the following requirements:

  • soluble in organic solvents that can be removed by vacuum and elevated temperature (100-200 °C maximum). Neutral or almost neutral pH water would also be ok
  • thermal stability up to 200°C and low outgassing because this is a sensing application
  • macro- and/or mesoporsosity because the pore accessibility of the MOF should not be hampered too much
  • good dispersion for MOF particles with 10-60µm particle diameter and bearing mostly carboxylate groups on the surface.
  • Being compatible with the substrates to be finally coated on. This will be alumina, silicon or gold.

The reason for this is to have a universal method in order to fast screen MOFs for this purpose and being able to characterize the - synthesized in bulk - MOF powder prior to this dispersion.

Preliminary experiments with PMMA(996k) in THF - and afterwards added MOF powder - showed that the BET surface area was diminished but only by 20% as compared on a mass-percentage basis. Higher percentages of MOF ithin this system showed a linear increased BET surface area.

I am sure there are some polymer-heads out there who may have some interesting suggestions. I am far away from being a polymer expert.

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