Abstract
The syntheses of MOFs and ZIFs are often accompanied by the formation of unwanted byproducts. Also for the ZIF-11 synthesis in N,N-Diethylformamide (DEF), phase impurities have been reported. In this systematic study, water residues in the reaction mixture could be identified as one major reason for the formation of the phase impurity ZIF-7-III within the ZIF-11 synthesis. The parameters ‘crystallinity’ and ‘phase index’ were introduced to quantify the phase transition.
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•ZIF-11 undergoes a phase transition to the dense phase ZIF-7-III.•Water residues in the solvent strongly affect the phase transition from ZIF-11 to ZIF-7-III.•The phase transition was quantified by introducing the parameters ‘phase index’ and ‘crystallinity’.