Mechanochemical dry conversion of zinc oxide to zeolitic imidazolate framework.

Mechanochemical dry conversion that only uses zinc oxide and an imidazole ligand proved to be effective and reliable for fabrication of a zeolitic imidazolate framework with a polycrystalline grain boundary and a core-shell structure. The zinc oxide crystals are converted into a zeolitic imidazolate framework to a depth of approx. 10 nm below the surface.