In the work titled “Size-Dependent Mechanical Properties of a Prototypical Metal Organic Framework are Related to Metal Content: Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-7”, the size-pendent mechanical properties of ZIF-7 was reported. The results demonstrated that smaller crystals have lower relative metal content via a larger number of missing metal nodes defects, the framework flexibility increases with crystal size reduction for both morphologies.
This article still needs to be improved, after careful consideration, this work is not suitable for publication in Materials Advances now. Below are noted several comments that require further development and revision before the article is ready for publication.
1. The authors should compare the PXRD patterns of ZIF-7 at nano-, micro-, and supermicron-sized to prove that there are more defects in smaller crystals.
2. Due to the missing of nodes, the pore sizes inside the smaller ZIF-7 would increase, the micropores maybe transition to mesopores or even macropores. Therefore, the authors are further suggested to add the differences in gas adsorption curves to corroborate.
3. AFM is mostly used to measure the Young’s modulus of bulk samples. For a individual ZIF-7 crystal (the rounded one or the prism-like one), affected by the tip of the AFM probe, the grain surface is surrounded by pit with obvious stress concentration. In this case, whether the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts elastic contact model is universal needs to be further discussed or quoted.
4. It is suggested to supplement high-quality SEM characterization to provide the morphology of ZIF-7 crystals.

As a reviewer of this manuscript, thanks to the authors for their patient answers, but the manuscript still needs improvement:

1. The authors judged that more defects in the smaller crystals according to the Zn/C ratio. However, this conclusion seems not to conform to the traditional cognition, that “less defects in the smaller crystals”. And the nanocrystal is round while the microcrystal is prismatic, the morphological difference between them may be due to the incomplete reaction of the smaller one, which will also lead to the reduction of the Zn/C ratio. Therefore, the authors are requested to further explain and prove.
2. This work (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.1c11136) about the size-dependent mechanical properties of MOF nanoparticles is closely related to this topic, here we suggest the authors to cite it at appropriate place in the revised manuscript.

All the raised issues have been well addressed.