Bottom-Up Fabrication of Semiconductive Metal-Organic Framework Ultrathin Films

Víctor Rubio-Giménez, Marta Galbiati, Javier Castells-Gil, Neyvis Almora-Barrios, José Navarro-Sánchez, Garin Escorcia-Ariza, Michele Mattera, Thomas Arnold, Jonathan Rawle, Sergio Tatay, Eugenio Coronado, Carlos Martí-Gastaldo

Though generally considered insulating, recent progress on the discovery of conductive porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offers new opportunities for their integration as electroactive components in electronic devices. Compared to classical semiconductors, these metal-organic hybrids combine the crystallinity of inorganic materials with easier chemical functionalization and processability. Still, future development depends on the ability to produce high-quality films with fine control over their orientation, crystallinity, homogeneity, and thickness. Here self-assembled monolayer substrate modification and bottom-up techniques are used to produce preferentially oriented, ultrathin, conductive films of Cu-CAT-1. The approach permits to fabricate and study the electrical response of MOF-based devices incorporating the thinnest MOF film reported thus far (10 nm thick).