Iodine-Induced Enhancement in Electrical Conductivity of Electrodeposited Thin Film of Copper-Carboxylate MOF

Abstract

Imparting electrical conductivity into metal-organic frameworks (MOF) having a significantly high porous nature, and large surface area but extremely poor electrical conductivity opens doors for numerous applications of MOFs in electronics, optoelectronics, and supercapacitors. Using molecular iodine as a guest in the MOFs is an effective strategy for enhancing electrical conductivity. Herein, we demonstrate for the first-time fabrication of Cu-NDC thin film using an electrochemical deposition approach and thereby intercalation of molecular iodine into MOF thin film. The iodine-doped thin film resulted in nearly ~2 orders of magnitude increased electrical Conductance than the pristine thin film. The increased electrical performance can be attributed to the formation of I3¯ species due to the partial oxidation of the framework. Consequences as mentioned earlier make the molecular iodine doping strategy, a promising candidate for modulating the electrical conductivity of MOFs