Co-ligand tuning of MOF structural anisotropy for giant optical birefringence

Abstract

The control of structural anisotropy of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) by tuning their co-ligand conposition to enhance the birefringence properties was demonstrated. A set of Cd-based MOFs with three co-ligands and H4TCPB were synthesised. We experimentally revealed an evolution of MOF structural anisotropy and birefringence, which was equal to ∆n = 0.223 in experiment and ∆n = 0.58 in theory within the visible spectral range.