The Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework ZIF‐4 under Low Hydrostatic Pressures

Abstract

The zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF‐4 has recently been shown to exhibit large structural flexibility as a response to hydrostatic pressures, going from an open pore phase ( ZIF ‐ 4 ( Zn )‐ op ) to a closed pore phase ( ZIF ‐ 4 ( Zn )‐ cp ). The use of diamond anvil cell (DAC) setups has so far restricted thorough experimental insight into the evolution of lattice parameters at pressures below p < 0.1 GPa. Here we revisit the high‐pressure properties of ZIF‐4(Zn) by applying a new high‐pressure powder X‐ray diffraction setup that allows for tracking the evolution of lattice parameters in pressure increments as small as Δ p = 0.005 GPa in the pressure range p = ambient – 0.4 GPa; a pressure resolution that cannot be achieved by using traditional DACs. We find ZIF‐4(Zn) has a bulk modulus of K ( ZIF ‐ 4 ( Zn )‐ op ) = 2.01 ± 0.05 GPa and K ( ZIF ‐ 4 ( Zn )‐ cp ) = 4.39 ± 0.20 GPa, clarifying and confirming some ambiguous results that have been reported previously.