Preparing sub-monolayer metals with continuous coverage spread for high-throughput growth of metal-organic frameworks

Abstract

Surface-confined metal-organic frameworks have emerged as versatile structures with a broad spectrum of applications such as nanoelectronics, catalysis, sensing, and molecular storage, owing to their unique structural and electronic properties. However, the exploration and optimization of molecular networks typically involve resource-intensive trial-and-error experiments. The complexity comes from factors like metal nodes, organic ligands, substrates, and the preparation conditions. To address this challenge, high-throughput methodologies have been used in materials exploration. In this work, we explored a high-throughput method for preparing sub-monolayer metals with continuous coverage spread on metal surfaces. By employing a physical mask during metal deposition under ultra-high vacuum conditions, we achieved sample libraries with copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) adatoms on the metal substrates, and constructed surface-supported metal-organic frameworks with varying metal-to-molecule stoichiometric ratios. This approach facilitates the exploration of surface-confined metal-organic frameworks, particularly in terms of varying metal-to-ligand stoichiometric ratios, offering an efficient pathway to unlock the potential of these intricate two-dimensional networks.