Laser Ablation in Liquids for ZIF-8 Nanostructures Preparation: Optical Properties and Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

This experimental investigation first employed the laser ablation technique to synthesize zinc zeolite imidazolate framework (Zn-ZIF) as a subset of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) in a liquid environment. This experimental investigation irradiated a laser on a zinc metal target in a methanol (MeOH) solution containing 2-methylimidazole ligand to synthesize zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanostructures. Three samples of Zn-ZIF nanostructures were produced in three ligand concentrations. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively. Based on the results, laser ablation is a rapid technique for the preparation of ZIF-8 nanostructures. With increasing ligand concentration, the number of nanostructures produced in the ablation liquid environment increased.