Controllable synthesis of metal–organic framework hollow nanospheres by a versatile step-by-step assembly strategy

Highly monodisperse metal–organic framework (MOF) hollow nanospheres have been rationally synthesized using monodisperse polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles as templates through a versatile step-by-step self-assembly strategy. The structure and composition of the hollow MOF-based nanostructures could be facilely tuned by choosing different framework building blocks (i.e. metal ions and polyfunctional organic ligands) and the hollow MOF shell thickness could also be easily controlled by tuning the number of growth cycles of the PS@MOF core–shell structures.