Uniform hierarchical MFI nanosheets prepared via anisotropic etching for solution-based sub-100-nm-thick oriented MFI layer fabrication

Uniform high–aspect ratio hierarchical MFI nanosheets were prepared via facile anisotropic etching of coffin-shaped MFI crystals.
Zeolite nanosheets have shown unprecedented opportunities for a wide range of applications, yet developing facile methods for fabrication of uniform zeolite nanosheets remains a great challenge. Here, a facile approach involving anisotropic etching with an aqueous solution of tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) was developed for preparing uniform high–aspect ratio hierarchical MFI nanosheets. In addition, the mechanism associated with the formation of MFI nanosheets was proposed. In the next step, a dynamic air-liquid interface–assisted self-assembly method and single-mode microwave heating were used for b-oriented MFI nanosheets monolayer deposition and controlled in-plane solution-based epitaxial growth, respectively, ensuring the formation of well-intergrown b-oriented MFI layers with sub–100-nm thickness. Moreover, our study indicated that b-oriented ultrathin MFI layers could be fabricated on diverse substrates demonstrating excellent anticorrosion capacity, ionic sieving properties, and n-/i-butane isomer separation performance.