A direct reaction approach for the synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks: template and temperature mediated control on network topology and crystal size

The direct acid–base reaction between ZnO/CoO/Co(OH)2 and imidazolic ligands under moderate heating (100–160 °C), in a closed vessel, leads to the generation of the corresponding zinc/cobalt-imidazolates in a high yield (87–97%) in which network topology is controlled by the addition of small amounts of structure directing agents. Moreover, the fine tuning of the thermal process at the synthetic stage permits us to increase the crystal size, and even to grow X-ray quality single crystals.