Metal Organic Frameworks Synthesis: The Versatility of Triethylamine

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are organic-inorganic hybrid materials with exceptionally customizable composition and properties. MOFs intrinsically possess open metal sites, tunable pore size/shape and an ultra-large specific surface area, and have obtained significant attention over the past 30 years. Furthermore, through the integration of functional moieties such as, molecules, functional groups, noble metal clusters and nanocrystals or nanoparticles into MOFs, the resulting composites have greatly enriched the physical and chemical properties of pure MOFs, enabling their application in a wider range of fields. Triethylamine (TEA) as an organic base has consistently played a fundamental role in the development of MOFs. In this Concept, the versatility of triethylamine when involved in the synthesis of MOFs is discussed. Four sections are used to elaborate on the role of TEA including: (1) Single crystal synthesis; (2) Size and morphology control; (3) Counterion of MOFs; (4) MOFs composites synthesis. In the last part, we highlight the potential of TEA for further developments.

Facile synthesis of N-doped carbon nanoframes encapsulated by CoP nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution reaction

Development of high-performance, economic, and stable non-noble metal catalysts is a still formidable challenge in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that must be overcome to alleviate the energy and environmental crisis. Herein, we designed and fabricated N-doped carbon nanoframes encapsulated by CoP nanoparticles (CoP-NCN). The 3D porous structure of the ZIF-67-derived N-doped carbon shortened the charge and mass transport pathways, contributing to enhanced electrocatalytic performance. Moreover, the synergistic effects of excellent conductivity, abundant mesopores, and high-activity CoP nanoparticles led to remarkable electrocatalytic activity toward HER with an extremely low overpotential of 120 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 and long-term stability. We further indicate that the fantastic HER catalytic ability of CoP-NCN is attributed to the good conductivity and the abundant active sites. The present study provides a promising avenue toward the design of cost-effective HER electrocatalysts.

Consecutive Nucleation and Confinement Modulation towards Li Plating in Seeded Capsules for Durable Li-Metal Batteries

A dual modulation strategy of consecutive nucleation and confined growth of Li metal is proposed by using the metal-organic framework (MOF) derivative hollow capsule with inbuilt lithiophilic Au or Co-O nanoparticle (NP) seeds as heterogeneous host. The seeding-induced nucleation enables the negligible overpotential and promotes the inward injection of Li mass into the abundant cavities in host, followed by the conformal plating of Li on the outer surface of host during discharging. This modulation alleviates the dendrite growth and volume expansion of Li plating. The interconnected porous host network enables enhancement of cycling and rate performances of Li metal (a lifespan over 1200 h for Au-seeding symmetric cells, and an endurance of 220 cycles under an ultrahigh current density of 10 mA cm^-2 for corresponding asymmetric cells). The hollow capsules integrated with lithiophilic seeds solve the deformation problem of Li metal for durable and long-life Li-metal batteries.

Fe-Co Alloyed Nanoparticles Catalyzing Efficient Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde to Cinnamyl Alcohol in Water

Selective hydrogenation of C=O against the conjugated C=C in cinnamaldehyde (CAL) is indispensable to produce cinnamyl alcohol (COL). Nonetheless, it is challenged by the low selectivity and the need to use organic solvents. Herein, for the first time, we report the use of Fe-Co alloy nanoparticles (NPs) on N-doped carbon support as a selective hydrogenation catalyst to efficiently convert CAL to COL. The resultant catalyst with the optimized Fe/Co ratio of 0.5 can achieve an exceptional COL selectivity of 91.7 % at a CAL conversion of 95.1 % in pure water medium under mild reaction conditions, ranking it the best performed catalyst reported to date. The experimental results confirm that the COL selectivity and CAL conversion efficiency are, respectively promoted by the presence of Fe and Co, while the synergism of the alloyed Fe-Co is the key to concurrently achieve high COL selectivity and CAL conversion efficiency.

Interfacial Engineering of Bimetallic Carbide and Cobalt Encapsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction

Heterojunction engineering is a fundamental strategy to develop efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction by tuning electronic properties through interfacial cooperation. In this study, a heterojunction electrocatalyst consisting of bimetallic carbide Co₃ ZnC and cobalt encapsulated within N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co₃ ZnC/Co@NCNTs) is synthesized by a facile two-step ion exchange-thermolysis pathway. Co₃ ZnC/Co@NCNTs effectively promotes interfacial charge transport between the different components with optimizes adsorption and desorption of intermediate products at the heterointerface. In situ-grown N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) not only improve the electrical conductivity but also suppress the oxidation of transition metal nanoparticles in alkaline media. Moreover, the abundant nitrogen types (pyridinic N, Co-N_x , and graphitic nitrogen) in the carbon skeleton provide more active sites for oxygen adsorption. Benefitting from this optimized structure, Co₃ ZnC/Co@NCNTs hybrid not only demonstrates excellent oxygen reduction activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.83 V and fast mass transport with limited current density of 6.23 mA cm^-2 , but also exhibits superior stability and methanol tolerance, which surpass those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. This work provides an effective heterostructure for interfacial electronic modulation to improve electrocatalytic performance.

Keggin-Type Polyoxometalate-Based ZIF-67 for Enhanced Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation

The photocatalytic reduction of N₂ to NH₃ is considered a promising strategy to alleviate human need for accessible nitrogen and environmental pollution, for which developing a photocatalyst is an effective method to complete the transformation of this process. We firstly design a series of highly efficient and stable polyoxometalates (POMs)-based zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) photocatalysts for N₂ reduction. ZIF-67 can effectively fix N₂ owing to its porosity. Integration of POMs cluster contributes enormous advantages in terms of broadening the absorption spectrum to improve sunlight utilization, enhance the stability of the materials, effectively inhibit the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, and reduce charge-transfer impedance. POMs can absorb light to convert into reduced POMs, which have stronger reducing ability to provide ample electrons to reduce N₂ . The reduced POMs can recover their oxidation state through contact with an oxidant, which forms a self-recoverable and recyclable photocatalytic fixing N₂ system. The photocatalytic activity enhances with the increasing number V substitutions in the POMs. Satisfactorily, ZIF-67@K₁₁ [PMo₄ V₈ O₄₀ ] (PMo₄ V₈ ) displays the most significant photocatalytic N₂ activity with a NH₃ yield of 149.0 μmol L^-1  h^-1 , which is improved by 83.5 % (ZIF-67) and 78.9 % (PMo₄ V₈ ). The introduction of POMs provides new insights for the design of high-performance photocatalyst nanomaterials to reduce N₂ .

Ultrafast Removal of Cadmium(II) by Green Cyclodextrin Metal-Organic-Framework-Based Nanoporous Carbon: Adsorption Mechanism and Application

Water contaminated with heavy metals has been identified as a significant threat to human health. Therefore, the development of safe and rapid water-treatment techniques is necessary. We have synthesized an eco-friendly γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanoporous carbon (γ-CD MOF-NPC) material, conducted a comprehensive characterization of it, and found its rapid and effective Cd^II -removal capacity. The γ-CD MOF-NPC could effectively sequester a majority of cadmium ions within one minute, and it still demonstrated excellent adsorption ability under various conditions, including different pH, adsorbent dosage, and coexistent ions. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated to be 140.85 mg g^-1 by means of the Langmuir model. The adsorption was primarily due to the effect of ion exchange of oxygen-containing functional groups, as determined by studying the ζ potential and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Flow-through experiments further proved the rapid Cd^II -removal capacity and potential of the practical application of γ-CD MOF-NPC in water treatment according to the cytotoxic data.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes Derived from Metal-Organic Frameworks for Potassium-Ion Battery Anodes

To tackle the issue of the poor rate capability of graphite anodes for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) with an edge-open layer-alignment structure were synthesized using a simple and scalable approach of pyrolyzing cobalt-containing metal-organic frameworks. The unique structure enables a facile and fast intercalation of K ions. As anodes of KIBs, the NCNTs demonstrated an improved rate capability by a high capacity retention of 102 mA h g^-1 at a high current density of 2000 mA g^-1 and a good stability without evident capacity loss over 500 cycles at 2000 mA g^-1 . Our findings can help to develop highperformance anode materials for potassium-ion batteries as large-scale and low-cost energy-storage systems.