Effect of the pillar ligand on preventing agglomeration of ZnO nanoparticles prepared from Zn(II) metal-organic frameworks

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) represent a new class of highly porous materials. On this regard,  two nano porous metal-organic frameworks of [Zn2(1,4-bdc)2(H2O)2∙(DMF)2]n (1) and [Zn2(1,4-bdc)2(dabco)]·4DMF·1⁄2H2O (2), (1,4-bdc = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate, dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) were synthesized and characterized. They were used for preparation of ZnO nanomaterials. With calcination of 1, agglomerated ZnO nanoparticles could be fabricated, but by the same process on 2, the tendency of ZnO nanoparticles to agglomeration was decreased. In addition, the ZnO nanoparticles prepared from compound 2 had smaller diameter than those obtained from compound 1. In fact, the role of organic dabco ligands in 2 is similar to the role of polymeric stabilizers in formation of nanoparticles. Finally, considering the various applications of ZnO nanomaterials such as light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, photodiodes, gas sensors and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), it seems that preparation of ZnO nanomaterials from their MOFs could be one of the simple and effective methods which may be applied for preparation of them.