Efficient metal-organic framework-based dual co-catalysts system assist CdS for hydrogen production from photolysis of water

Metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) and their derivatives have been widely used in the field of photocatalytic water decomposition for hydrogen production. In this study, NiS/CdS was initially acquired and subsequently combined with DUT-67 via ultrasound to create a unique ternary photocatalyst NiS/CdS@DUT-67. The rate of hydrogen production for NiS/CdS@DUT-67 is 9618 μmol·g NiS/CdS-1·h-1 for NiS/CdS@DUT-67, which is 32 times and 2.5 times higher than that for CdS and NiS/CdS, respectively. Of particular interest is the fact that even after 50 h of photocatalysis, the hydrogen production rate did not show a significant decrease, demonstrating its excellent stability compared to CdS and NiS/CdS. In this ternary system, NiS and DUT-67 function as dual co-catalysts for CdS, collaborating to enhance charge separation during the photocatalysis. This study presents a clear demonstration of the advantages of utilizing metal-organic framework derivatives (MOF-derivatives) cophotocatalysts and their synergistic effect, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity and stability of semiconductors. This innovative approach provides a new perspective on constructing photocatalytic materials with exceptional performance.

MOF-enabled confinement and related effects for chemical catalyst presentation and utilization

A defining characteristic of nearly all catalytically functional MOFs is uniform, molecular-scale porosity. MOF pores, linkers and nodes that define them, help regulate reactant and product transport, catalyst siting, catalyst accessibility, catalyst stability, catalyst activity, co-catalyst proximity, composition of the chemical environment at and beyond the catalytic active site, chemical intermediate and transition-state conformations, thermodynamic affinity of molecular guests for MOF interior sites, framework charge and density of charge-compensating ions, pore hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, pore and channel rigidity vs. flexibility, and other features and properties. Collectively and individually, these properties help define overall catalyst functional behaviour. This review focuses on how porous, catalyst-containing MOFs capitalize on molecular-scale confinement, containment, isolation, environment modulation, energy delivery, and mobility to accomplish desired chemical transformations with potentially superior selectivity or other efficacy, especially in comparison to catalysts in homogeneous solution environments.

An aerobic oxidation of alcohols into carbonyl synthons using bipyridyl-cinchona based palladium catalyst

We have reported an aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to respective aldehydes and ketones using a bipyridyl-cinchona alkaloid based palladium catalytic system (PdAc-5) using oxygen at moderate pressure. The PdAc-5 catalyst was analysed using SEM, EDAX, and XPS analysis. The above catalytic system is used in experiments for different oxidation systems which include different solvents, additives, and bases which are cheap, robust, non-toxic, and commercially available on the industrial bench. The obtained products are quite appreciable in both yield and selectivity (70-85%). In addition, numerous important studies, such as comparisons with various commercial catalysts, solvent systems, mixture of solvents, and catalyst mole%, were conducted using PdAc-5. The synthetic strategy of oxidation of alcohol into carbonyl compounds was well established and all the products were analysed using 1H NMR, 13CNMR and GC-mass analyses.

Selective Photocatalytic Oxidation of Thioanisole on DUT-67(Zr) Mediated by Surface Coordination

DUT-67(Zr) was obtained by a solvothermal route and applied to photocatalytic selective synthesis of thioanisole under light illuminating. The conversion of thioanisole is up to 95%, and the selectivity of methyl phenyl sulfoxide is 98%. The activity of DUT-67(Zr) is over 10 times higher than that of UiO-66. This great increased activity is attributed to the high percentages of oxygen vacancies on DUT-67(Zr). The ESR result shows there are more oxygen vacancies that can expose high density unsaturated Zr sites on DUT-67(Zr). The in situ FTIR reveals that unsaturated Zr sites on DUT-67(Zr) possess Lewis acidity which facilitate the adsorption of the substrates to form the coordination species, promoting the activation of thioanisole. The absorption edge of DUT-67(Zr) with coordination species red-shifts to 360 nm, which can be presented by DRS. Furthermore, the oxygen molecules can be activated by excited electrons to form ^•O₂^-. Finally, a possible photocatalytic process of oxidating thioanisole to methyl phenyl sulfoxide based on the coordination effect between DUT-67(Zr) and thioanisole is proposed at a molecular level.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Encapsulating Active Nanoparticles as Emerging Composites for Catalysis: Recent Progress and Perspectives

Beyond conventional porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have aroused great interest in the construction of nanocatalysts with the characteristics of catalytically active nanoparticles (NPs) confined into the cavities/channels of MOFs or surrounded by MOFs. The advantages of adopting MOFs as the encapsulating matrix are multifold: uniform and long-range ordered cavities can effectively promote the mass transfer and diffusion of substrates and products, while the diverse metal nodes and tunable organic linkers may enable outstanding synergy functions with the encapsulated active NPs. Herein, some key issues related to MOFs for catalysis are discussed. Then, state-of-the art progress in the encapsulation of catalytically active NPs by MOFs as well as their synergy functions for enhanced catalytic performance in the fields of thermo-, photo-, and electrocatalysis are summarized. Notably, encapsulation-structured nanocatalysts exhibit distinct advantages over conventional supported catalysts, especially in terms of the catalytic selectivity and stability. Finally, challenges and future developments in MOF-based encapsulation-structured nanocatalysts are proposed. The aim is to deliver better insight into the design of well-defined nanocatalysts with atomically accurate structures and high performance in challenging reactions.