Surface acid–base catalytic activity of ZIF-8 revealed by super-resolution fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

We investigated the catalytic activity of ZIF-8 in fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis via super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Acid–base activity is detected only on the outer surface and crystal defects. Oleic acid etching introduces extra porosity and allows catalytic conversion inside the crystals, but leads to overall activity loss.