Real-time in situ monitoring of particle and structure evolution in the mechanochemical synthesis of UiO-66 metal-organic frameworks

While in situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction has revolutionized mechanistic studies of mechanochemistry and inspired the development for other real-time monitoring approaches, the full potential of such data remains unexploited, with most applications addressing only reaction kinetics. Focusing on UiO-type metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as models, we now show how in-depth analysis of real-time diffraction data can provide insight into the evolution of both crystallographic structure and crystallite size, including the direct relation to the particle size of mechanochemically formed MOFs.