Direct growth of Cu3(BTC)2(H2O)3 · xH2O thin films on modified QCM-gold electrodes – Water sorption isotherms

The preparation of a thin film of the metal–organic framework Cu3(BTC)2(H2O)3 · xH2O (HKUST-1) on the gold electrode of a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) was achieved by direct growth on a 11-mercaptoundecanol self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The formation of the SAM on the gold substrate was proven via reflection–absorption infrared-spectroscopy. The HKUST-1 thin film was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman-spectroscopy, and scanning-electron microscopy. Water vapor sorption measurements allow us to directly characterize the sorption properties of the thin film grown on the electrode of the QCM-device.