Selective growth of MFU-4l single crystals on microstructured plasma polymer coatings

Abstract

Single crystals of the metal–organic framework Ulm-4l(arge) (MFU-4l) can be grown site selectively on microtextured plasma polymer coatings comprising a pattern of alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. The crystals grow preferentially on the hydrophilic parts of the film surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the cubic crystals have a high propensity to adhere with 〈1 0 0〉 orientation to the coating.