Pore Structure Modulation in Kirigamic Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework

Paper crafts, such as origami and kirigami, have become an interdisciplinary research theme transportable from art to science, and further to engineering. Kirigami-inspired architectural design strategies allow the establishment of three-dimensional (3D) mechanical linkages with unprecedented mechanical properties. Herein, we report a crystalline zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF), displaying folding mechanics based on a kirigami tessellation, originated from the double-corrugation surface (DCS) pattern. Pressure- and guest-induced responses demonstrate the kirigami mechanism of the ZIF, wherein imidazolate linkers act as hinges, controlling pore dimensionality, resembling the check valve-adapted mechanical manifold. This discovery of the kirigami tessellation inside a flexible ZIF reveals foldable mechanics at the molecular level.