The chemicals used in this experiment were procured from Sigma-Aldrich and stored following the manufacturer's guidelines. The preparation of the precursor materials was performed as previously reported. Ethanol (EtOH) was used to prepare solutions of 0.24 M benzene-1,3,5tricarboxylic acid (BTC) and 0.1 M Copper (II) nitrate trihydrate, Cu (NO3)2•3H2O. The precursor concentration was constant. The resultant MOF particles were separated by centrifugation (9,000 rpm for 10 mins) using an Allegra X-30 centrifuge from Bechman Coulter. The MOFs were stored in glass vials and dried at 393°C overnight.