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To develop high-performance metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for catalysis is of great importance. Here, we synthesized the mesoporous Cu3−xZnx(BTC)2 (BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) nanocubes in a deep eutectic solvent of ZnCl2/ethylene glycol solution. The route can proceed at room temperature and the reaction time needed is shortened to be 30 min, which is superior to the conventional solvothermal route that usually needs high temperature and long reaction time. The formation mechanism of the mesoporous Cu3−xZnx(BTC)2 nanocubes in deep eutectic solvent (DES) was investigated by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction/small angle X-ray scattering/X-ray absorption fine structure conjunction technique. The mesoporous Cu3−xZnx(BTC)2 nanocubes exhibit high catalytic activity and reusability for cyanosilylation reaction of benzaldehyde and aerobic oxidation reaction of benzylic alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To produce metal-organic framework (MOF) catalysts with both high activity and durability is interesting but challenging. We report an amorphous MOF (NH2-MIL-68), which combines the advantages of (1) a large number of open metal sites, (2) the basic building blocks and connectivity of crystalline NH2-MIL-68, and (3) hierarchically meso- and microporous structure. It exhibits high performances in electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 and photochemical cycloaddition of CO2 under mild conditions. For the former reaction, the maximum Faradaic efficiency for product formic acid (FEHCOOH) reaches 93.3% with a current density of 34.2 mA·cm−2 at −2.05 V vs. Ag/Ag+ catalyzed by amorphous NH2-MIL-68, while the crystalline NH2-MIL-68 shows FEHCOOH of 67.7% with considerable productions of CO and H2 at the same experimental conditions. For the photochemical cycloaddition of CO2 with styrene oxide, the yield by amorphous NH2-MIL-68 can reach 94.1% at 12 h, which is higher than the reported value under similar conditions. The structure—efficiency relationship of the catalyst for the two reactions was investigated. This work opens up new possibility for designing high-performance MOF and MOF-based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great importance to develop facile strategies to synthesize catalysts with desirable compositions and structures for high-performance photocatalytic hydrogen generation. In this work, we put forward an ionic liquid assisted one-pot route for the synthesis of heteroatom-doped Pt/TiO2 composite material. This route is simple, environmentally benign and adjustable owing to the designable properties of ionic liquids. The as-synthesized Pt/TiO2 nanocrystals exhibit high activity and stability for the photocatalytic hydrogen generation under simulated solar irradiation. This method can be easily applied to the synthesis of various kinds of metal/TiO2 composites doped with desirable heteroatoms (e.g., F, Cl, Br, etc). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]