# Preparation and Application of ZIF-8 Thin Layers  
[PERSON]  
1 Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden e.V., Helmholtzstrasse 20, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; i.g.gonzales.martinez@ifw-dresden.de.de.dzhikailova@ifw-dresden.de.de  
2 Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technische Universitat Dresden, George-Bahr-Strasse 3b, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
3 Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universitat Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
4 Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technische Universitat Dresden, George-Bahr-Strasse 3b, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
1 Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden e.V., Helmholtzstrasse 20, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; i.g.gonzales.martinez@ifw-dresden.de.dzhikailova@[EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technische Universitat Dresden, George-Bahr-Strasse 3b, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]. [PERSON]  
3 Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universitat Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]. [PERSON]  
1 Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden e.V., Helmholtzstrasse 20, D-01069 Dresden, Germany; i.g.gonzales.martinez@ifw-dresden.de.de.dzhikailova@ifw-dresden. On these surfaces, an omniphobic (perfluorated) oil with a low surface energy is held within a thin layer of the host material, which keeps the oil in place by using capillary forces [17]. This idea was inspired by nature and was introduced for the first time in 2011 [6; 17]. The resulting surfaces have shown high contact angles with a small contact angle hysteresis (difference between advancing and receding contact angles) in additional to a self-healing effect and a better optical transmission behavior [17]. For industrial purposes, a stable, thin and convenient applicable coating for complex shaped components is required. In case of liquid-infused porous surfaces (LIPS), the supportive host material is the key to those desired properties. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are known for their high specific surface area and porosity. They consist of metal ions or metal-oxygen-cluster, so-called \"inorganic building units\" (IBU), which are coordinated to organic ligands (or linkers) [18]. These IBUs and linkers create a coordination network with potential voids [19]. These voids can differ in size (depending on the linker) and often connect to each other, creating capillaries or pore networks [20]. In addition to pore size, MOFs can also easily be adjusted in their hierarchical structure, by using a huge variety of different templating methods [20], to control not only the pore size but also the macroscopic shape. Because of the high potential in customizability and a lot of possible applications, such as gas storage and separation as well as water absorption, drug delivery and catalysis, a lot of different synthesis routes are applied, such as solvothermal, mechanochemical, sonochemical and microwave-assisted synthesis as well as electrochemical synthesis. By pretesting MOFs for their chemical and thermal resistance as well as their corresponding contact angles in the interaction with specific liquids, we decided to use ZIF-8 for our further investigations. ZIF-8 is a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) consisting of tetrahedrally coordinated Zn\({}^{2+}\) ions connected by 2-methylimidazolate linkers, creating an angle of 145\({}^{\circ}\) between these components, similar to the Si-O-Si angle in zeolites [21], as shown in Figure 2. ZIF-8 has been extensively studied and is highly suitable for creating a porous, thermally and chemically stable host layer [22; 23; 24] in LIPS, as well as it can be useful as thin layer in other applications such as catalysts [25] or sensors [26].