Focused ion beam milling and MicroED structure determination of metal-organic framework crystals.
Ultramicroscopy 2024;
257:113905. [PMID:
38086288 PMCID:
PMC10843726 DOI:
10.1016/j.ultramic.2023.113905]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
We report new advancements in the determination and high-resolution structural analysis of beam-sensitive metal organic frameworks (MOFs) using microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) coupled with focused ion beam milling at cryogenic temperatures (cryo-FIB). A microcrystal of the beam-sensitive MOF, ZIF-8, was ion-beam milled in a thin lamella approximately 150 nm thick. MicroED data were collected from this thin lamella using an energy filter and a direct electron detector operating in counting mode. Using this approach, we achieved a greatly improved resolution of 0.59 Å with a minimal total exposure of only 0.64 e-/A2. These innovations not only improve model statistics but also further demonstrate that ion-beam milling is compatible with beam-sensitive materials, augmenting the capabilities of electron diffraction in MOF research.
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