Hydrogenative Ring-Rearrangement of Furfural to Cyclopentanone over Pd/UiO-66-NO2 with Tunable Missing-Linker Defects

Upgrading furfural (FAL) to cyclopentanone (CPO) is of great importance for the synthesis of high-value chemicals and biomass utilization. The hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of FAL is catalyzed by metal-acid bifunctional catalysts. The Lewis acidity is a key factor in promoting the rearrangement of furan rings and achieving a high selectivity to CPO. In this work, highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles were successfully encapsulated into the cavities of a Zr based MOF, UiO-66-NO₂, by impregnation using a double-solvent method (DSM) followed by H₂ reduction. The obtained Pd/UiO-66-NO₂ catalyst showed a significantly better catalytic performance in the aforementioned reaction than the Pd/UiO-66 catalyst due to the higher Lewis acidity of the support. Moreover, by using a thermal treatment. The Lewis acidity can be further increased through the creating of missing-linker defects. The resulting defective Pd/UiO-66-NO₂ exhibited the highest CPO selectivity and FAL conversion of 96.6% and 98.9%, respectively. In addition, the catalyst was able to maintain a high activity and stability after four consecutive runs. The current study not only provides an efficient catalytic reaction system for the hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of furfural to cyclopentanone but also emphasizes the importance of defect sites.     

UiO-66 microcrystals catalyzed direct arylation of enol acetates and heteroarenes with aryl diazonium salts in water

UiO-66 is a classic Metal–organic framework (MOF) that constructed by zirconium cations and terephthalate with high chemical and thermal stability. Using pristine UiO-66 nanocrystals as the catalysts, the carbon–carbon bond formation based on denitrogenative substitution of aryl diazonium salts has been achieved under mild condition. The C–H arylation of both enol acetates and heteroarenes could be performed in aqueous medium without other metal assistance. The UiO-66 catalyst shows good water stability and reusability as well as impressive functional group tolerance.     

H2 storage in isostructural UiO-67 and UiO-66 MOFs

The recently discovered UiO-66/67/68 class of isostructural metallorganic frameworks (MOFs) [J. H. Cavka et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 13850] has attracted great interest because of its remarkable stability at high temperatures, high pressures and in the presence of different solvents, acids and bases [L. Valenzano et al. Chem. Mater., 2011, 23, 1700]. UiO-66 is obtained by connecting Zr(6)O(4)(OH)(4) inorganic cornerstones with 1,4-benzene-dicarboxylate (BDC) as linker resulting in a cubic MOF, which has already been successfully reproduced in several laboratories. Here we report the first complete structural, vibrational and electronic characterization of the isostructural UiO-67 material, obtained using the longer 4,4'-biphenyl-dicarboxylate (BPDC) linker, by combining laboratory XRPD, Zr K-edge EXAFS, TGA, FTIR, and UV-Vis studies. Comparison between experimental and periodic calculations performed at the B3LYP level of theory allows a full understanding of the structural, vibrational and electronic properties of the material. Both materials have been tested for molecular hydrogen storage at high pressures and at liquid nitrogen temperature. In this regard, the use of a longer ligand has a double benefit: (i) it reduces the density of the material and (ii) it increases the Langmuir surface area from 1281 to 2483 m(2) g(-1) and the micropore volume from 0.43 to 0.85 cm(3) g(-1). As a consequence, the H(2) uptake at 38 bar and 77 K increases from 2.4 mass% for UiO-66 up to 4.6 mass% for the new UiO-67 material. This value is among the highest values reported so far but is lower than those reported for MIL-101, IRMOF-20 and MOF-177 under similar pressure and temperature conditions (6.1, 6.2 and 7.0 mass%, respectively) [A. G. Wong-Foy et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 3494; M. Dinca and J. R. Long. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 6766]. Nevertheless the remarkable chemical and thermal stability of UiO-67 and the absence of Cr in its structure would make this material competitive.     

高稳定性金属有机骨架UiO-66的合成与应用

金属有机骨架(metal-organic frameworks,MOFs)是一种由金属中心与有机配体自组装而成的、具有三维网状有序孔结构的新型多孔晶体材料,其具有超高的比表面积、种类和结构多样性、可化学功能化等特点,在多个研究领域显示出了潜在的应用前景,已成为当前化学、材料学科的研究热点之一。 然而大多数MOFs材料的稳定性较差,极大地束缚了MOFs材料的发展。 以Zr为金属中心,对苯二甲酸为有机配体的UiO-66具有较好的热稳定性,结构可在500 ℃保持稳定,并且其还具有很高的耐酸性和一定的耐碱性,引起了人们的关注。 本文主要综述了UiO-66在合成调控、功能化合成和后改性方面的研究现状,以及其在吸附和催化等领域的应用前景。     

Zirconium-containing UiO-66 as an efficient and reusable catalyst for transesterification of triglyceride with methanol

Zirconium-based MOFs of the UiO family have attracted considerable attention due to their high thermal,chemical and mechanical stability. With the aim of further exploring the applications of zirconium-based UiO-66 in acid-catalyzed reactions and elucidating the effects of the defects in UiO-66 materials on their catalytic performances, in this work, a series of zirconium-containing UiO-66 samples were synthesized by varying the synthesis temperatures and BDC/Zr(terephthalic acid/ZrCl_4) ratios in the synthesis system.The synthesized UiO-66 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), N_2 adsorption-desorption,scanning electron microscopy(SEM), thermogravimetrical analysis(TGA), temperature-programmed desorption of NH_3(NH_3-TPD). Their catalytic performances were investigated in transesterification of tributyrin and soybean oil with methanol. The results showed that UiO-66 samples with different amounts of defects could be successfully prepared by varying the synthesis temperatures and/or the BDC/Zr ratios used in the synthesis system. The catalytic activities of the UiO-66 materials greatly depended on their linker defects and enhanced with the increase of the defect amount. The UiO-66 was an efficient catalyst for transesterification of tributyrin and soybean oil with methanol under mild reaction conditions and its catalytic activity was comparable to other solid acid catalysts reported in the literatures. The UiO-66 catalyst was relatively stable and could be reused.     

The Chemistry of Nucleation: In Situ Pair Distribution Function Analysis of Secondary Building Units During UiO-66 MOF Formation

The concept of secondary building units (SBUs) is central to all science on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and they are widely used to design new MOF materials. However, the presence of SBUs during MOF formation remains controversial, and the formation mechanism of MOFs remains unclear, due to limited information about the evolution of prenucleation cluster structures. Here in situ pair distribution function (PDF) analysis was used to probe UiO-66 formation under solvothermal conditions. The expected SBU—a hexanuclear zirconium cluster—is present in the metal salt precursor solution. Addition of organic ligands results in a disordered structure with correlations up to 23 Å, resembling crystalline UiO-66. Heating leads to fast cluster aggregation, and further growth and ordering results in the crystalline product. Thus, SBUs are present already at room temperature and act as building blocks for MOF formation. The proposed formation steps provide insight for further development of MOF synthesis.     

Molecular dynamics simulation study of drugs adsorption in UiO-66

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are novel porous materials that have been extensively used in sensors, catalysis, gas storage and separation, and drug deliver owing to their adjustable pore size, large surface area and high porosity. Among diverse MOFs, UiO-66 can be a promising carrier for drug delivery due to high porosity and chemical stability. However, the adsorption mechanism of drugs in UiO-66 has not been identified and need a further investigation. Hence, we utilized molecular dynamic (MD) simulation to investigate the adsorption mechanism of UiO-66 as drug carriers. The MD simulation of UiO-66 exhibits the busulfan loading of 80 %, ibuprofen of 20 % and 5-fluorouracil of 30 %, respectively. We also demonstrated that the host-guest interaction between UiO-66 and drugs is dominated by the Van der Waals force. UiO-66 shows the highest affinity for busulfan compared with ibuprofen and 5-fluorouracil. In addition, it is certified the linear relation between the adsorption atoms and the interaction energy, which could help us to predict the interaction energy between drugs and UiO-66 by the contact atoms.     

Ice-templated porous polymer/UiO-66 monolith for Congo Red adsorptive removal

Chitosan/MOF composite porous monolith used in water remediation as adsorbent can realize high-efficient removal of pollutant in water and facile recycling from water. However, dissolution of chitosan (without crosslinking) in acidic aqueous solution will cause breakage of composite monolith. Herein, we report a chitosan/UiO-66 monolith prepared by ice-templating method. Specially, a pre-crosslinking treatment (by glutaraldehyde) is employed before the monolith formation, which obviously boosts its stability in aqueous solution. The composite monolith is evaluated by SEM, N₂ adsorption, XRD, and batch adsorption tests for Congo Red (CR). The results show that the composite monolith possesses a typical ice-templating structure with hierarchical (mirco- / meso- and macro-) pores. UiO-66 particles are embedded on the surface of chitosan matrix, and the crystal structure of UiO-66 is not changed obviously by the crosslinking and freezing process. The composite monolith exhibits high adsorption efficiency (90% of CR was removed from its aqueous solution in 60 min) and the maximum adsorption capacity of 246.21 mg/g (derived from Langmuir model) can be reached. After adsorption, the monolith is collected by a facile procedure and recovered using ethanol for evaluating its reusability. After 4 cycles, the CR removal efficiency of the composite monolith still remains ~90% of the initial efficiency. This work demonstrates that the simple crosslinking procedure before monolith formation can ensure the intact shape of the chitosan/MOF monolith during adsorption.     

全氟酰基合成后修饰UiO-66用于吸附有机污染物

以三氟乙酰基和五氟丙酰基为修饰官能团,通过合成后修饰（PSM）的方法对金属-有机骨架（MOFs）改性,得到疏水骨架材料（UiO-66-F1和UiO-66-F2）。2个骨架材料均显示出亲油性,这说明它们是油性溶剂潜在的吸附材料。修饰后MOFs材料的结晶性、稳定性和多孔性较UiO-66-NH₂仅有微小降低。UiO-66-F1和UiO-66-F2的Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET）比表面积分别为810和610 m²·g^-1。骨架材料因其合适的孔大小和疏水微环境,更容易吸附水中的有机污染物。此外,改性后材料对多种有机溶剂的吸附量显著提升,在经过10次的循环吸附后吸附量没有明显降低,具有出色的循环稳定性。     

螺吡喃功能化UiO-66光响应吸附剂的制备及其性能

将光响应分子甲基螺吡喃SP-CH₃引入UiO-66的非极性孔笼中,构筑吸附活性位可光控调节的光响应吸附剂。SP-CH₃功能化的吸附剂完好保留了载体UiO-66的骨架和孔道结构。以阴离子染料甲基橙为探针,研究了吸附剂在不同光照条件下的吸附和解吸性能。结果表明,经紫外光照后,吸附剂对甲基橙的吸附量为41.99 mg·g^-1,相较于可见光照后样品的吸附量提升57.56%,吸附作用增强;经可见光照后,甲基橙的脱附量为81.6%。本策略通过光照刺激改变UiO-66孔笼中SP-CH₃的构型及表面电荷性质,即对吸附活性位进行光控调节,在不同光照条件下实现对吸附质的高效吸附和有效脱附。     

Exploiting parameter space in MOFs: a 20-fold enhancement of phosphate-ester hydrolysis with UiO-66-NH2

The hydrolysis of nerve agents is of primary concern due to the severe toxicity of these agents. Using a MOF-based catalyst (UiO-66), we have previously demonstrated that the hydrolysis can occur with relatively fast half-lives of 50 minutes. However, these rates are still prohibitively slow to be efficiently utilized for some practical applications (e.g., decontamination wipes used to clean exposed clothing/skin/vehicles). We thus turned our attention to derivatives of UiO-66 in order to probe the importance of functional groups on the hydrolysis rate. Three UiO-66 derivatives were explored; UiO-66-NO₂ and UiO-66-(OH)₂ showed little to no change in hydrolysis rate. However, UiO-66-NH₂ showed a 20 fold increase in hydrolysis rate over the parent UiO-66 MOF. Half-lives of 1 minute were observed with this MOF. In order to probe the role of the amino moiety, we turned our attention to UiO-67, UiO-67-NMe₂ and UiO-67-NH₂. In these MOFs, the amino moiety is in close proximity to the zirconium node. We observed that UiO-67-NH₂ is a faster catalyst than UiO-67 and UiO-67-NMe₂. We conclude that the role of the amino moiety is to act as a proton-transfer agent during the catalytic cycle and not to hydrogen bond or to form a phosphorane intermediate.     

螺吡喃功能化UiO-66光响应吸附剂的制备及其性能

将光响应分子甲基螺吡喃SP-CH₃引入UiO-66的非极性孔笼中,构筑吸附活性位可光控调节的光响应吸附剂。SP-CH₃功能化的吸附剂完好保留了载体UiO-66的骨架和孔道结构。以阴离子染料甲基橙为探针,研究了吸附剂在不同光照条件下的吸附和解吸性能。结果表明,经紫外光照后,吸附剂对甲基橙的吸附量为41.99 mg·g^-1,相较于可见光照后样品的吸附量提升57.56%,吸附作用增强;经可见光照后,甲基橙的脱附量为81.6%。本策略通过光照刺激改变UiO-66孔笼中SP-CH₃的构型及表面电荷性质,即对吸附活性位进行光控调节,在不同光照条件下实现对吸附质的高效吸附和有效脱附。     

螺吡喃功能化UiO-66光响应吸附剂的制备及其性能

将光响应分子甲基螺吡喃SP-CH₃引入UiO-66的非极性孔笼中,构筑吸附活性位可光控调节的光响应吸附剂。SP-CH₃功能化的吸附剂完好保留了载体UiO-66的骨架和孔道结构。以阴离子染料甲基橙为探针,研究了吸附剂在不同光照条件下的吸附和解吸性能。结果表明,经紫外光照后,吸附剂对甲基橙的吸附量为41.99 mg·g^-1,相较于可见光照后样品的吸附量提升57.56%,吸附作用增强;经可见光照后,甲基橙的脱附量为81.6%。本策略通过光照刺激改变UiO-66孔笼中SP-CH₃的构型及表面电荷性质,即对吸附活性位进行光控调节,在不同光照条件下实现对吸附质的高效吸附和有效脱附。     

Unraveling the reversible formation of defective Ce3+ sites in the UiO-66(Ce) material: a multi-technique study

Ce³⁺ presence and formation in Ce-based UiO-66 Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) still presents a debated evaluation between the employed characterization techniques. In this work, we have prepared a defective UiO-66(Ce) and investigated the nature of Ce³⁺ sites on the CeO_x clusters. Laboratory techniques (EPR, XPS, UV–Vis and FTIR spectroscopy) were compared with operando Ce M₅-edge NEXAFS to study Ce³⁺ accessibility. All the employed techniques presented different degrees of accessibility or reliability (e.g., sample damage or not sufficient sensitivity). Among the obtained results, EPR, UV–Vis and NEXAFS spectroscopies unraveled Ce⁴⁺→Ce³⁺ conversion during the sample dehydration. The MOF structure was not damaged by neither water loss nor the beam, directly relating Ce oxidation state to the water content, opening a new route to both synthesis of stable and active MOFs and non-invasive characterization strategies. Finally, laboratory measurements considerations were exploited for studying Ce³⁺ formation in Zr-doped UiO-66(Ce) samples.     

The Influence of UiO-66 Metal–Organic Framework Structural Defects on Adsorption and Separation of Hexane Isomers

In this work, adsorption properties of the UiO-66 metal–organic framework were investigated, with particular emphasis on the influence of structural defects. A series of UiO-66 samples were synthesized and characterized using a wide range of experimental techniques. Type I adsorption isotherms for low-temperature adsorption of N₂ and Ar showed that micropore volume and specific surface area significantly increase with the number of defects. Adsorption of hexane isomers in UiO-66 was studied by means of quasi-equilibrated temperature-programmed desorption and adsorption (QE-TPDA) experimental and Monte Carlo simulation techniques. QE-TPDA profiles revealed that only defect-free UiO-66 exhibits distinct two adsorption states. This technique also yielded high-quality adsorption isobars that were successfully recreated using Grand-Canonical Monte Carlo molecular simulations, which, however, required refinement of the existing force fields. The calculations demonstrated the detailed mechanism of adsorption and separation of hexane isomers in the UiO-66 structure. The preferred tetrahedral cages provide suitable voids for bulky molecules, which is the reason for unusual “reverse” selectivity of UiO-66 towards di-branched alkanes. Interconnection of the tetrahedral cavities due to missing organic linkers greatly reduces the selectivity of the defected material.     

S-型分级多孔CdS/UiO-66光催化剂的构建实现4-硝基苯胺的高效还原

金属有机框架(MOFs)材料因其高孔隙率特性在气体吸附分离、药物传递、催化等领域具有广泛应用.近年来,将功能化纳米颗粒(NPs)封装在MOFs中的研究在催化领域引起了科学家的兴趣.其中,较大比表面积的MOFs可以为NPs的分散和固定提供理想的平台,而NPs反过来可以为催化反应引入更多的活性位点,提高催化效率.然而,MOFs本身的孔隙常局限于微孔(<2 nm),这极大地限制了NPs在MOFs孔隙中的有效封装.因此,设计并制备含有介孔(2?50 nm)或大孔(>50 nm)的多级孔MOFs,揭示其孔径大小对复杂NPs/MOFs复合催化剂催化性能的影响具有重要意义.然而,具有不同孔径MOFs的可控制备具有巨大挑战性,MOFs孔径如何影响和调控NPs/MOFs复合材料催化活性是一个悬而未决的科学问题.本文结合金属离子刻蚀法和调控配体法设计了两种具有不同孔径(大孔和介孔)的UiO-66,并系统研究了孔径大小对CdS NPs的分布以及所形成的复合催化剂CdS/UiO-66的催化性能的影响及机制.我们首先阐明了UiO-66调控孔径后影响和修饰CdS NPs的空间分布:对于具有开放大孔结构的UiO-66纳米笼,CdS NPs倾向于自发沉积在UiO-66纳米笼内壁上.相比之下,CdS NPs则主要附着于介孔UiO-66的外表面.据此,具有大孔和介孔结构的CdS/UiO-66表现出不同的光催化性能.以光还原4-硝基苯胺反应为例,大孔CdS/UiO-66的反应速率常数是介孔和实心样品的3?13倍,且优于许多文献报道的CdS复合材料催化剂,表明大孔结构在制备高效复合催化材料上的潜在优势.通过光吸收能力、能级结构等计算表征,该催化剂的电子空穴对传输遵循S-型异质结光催化机制;大孔CdS/UiO-66具有较高光催化活性可归因于纳米笼对NPs的限域效应,即CdS被限制在UiO-66纳米笼内,缩短了催化剂与底物之间的电子传输距离;空心纳米笼结构则保护其内部的CdS NPs免受光腐蚀的影响,进而获得较高的催化效率和循环稳定性.可见,本文提出了一种结合离子刻蚀法和调控配体法获得具有不同孔径MOFs的有效策略,阐明了调控MOFs的孔径尺寸可以影响NPs的空间分布,是制约其性能的关键因素,有望为高效催化剂的设计及催化机制的研究提供新的依据.     

Sunlight photocatalytic degradation of ofloxacin using UiO-66/wood composite photocatalysts

This study synthesized UiO-66（Zr） in situ on wood via a one-step solvothermal method. UiO-66/wood was successfully prepared and its catalytic performance for the ofloxacin（OFX） photodegradation under simulate sunlight was also explored. Ui O-66/wood exhibited a better catalytic performance, and its degradation rate constant was about 1.2 and 1.5 times than that of UiO-66 and wood, respectively. The effects of solution initial concentration, pH of the system and dosage of the photocatalyst were e...     

Solid-state NMR studies of the acidity of functionalized metal–organic framework UiO-66 materials

The acid strength of metal–organic frameworks plays a key role in their catalytic performance such as activity and selectivity during catalytic reactions. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance in combination with probe molecules including 2-¹³C-acetone and pyridine-d₅ was employed to characterize the acid strength of UiO-66-X (X = -H, -2COOH, -SO₃H). It was found that after introduction of the functional groups, the acid strength of UiO-66-2COOH and UiO-66-SO₃H is considerably enhanced compared with that of parent UiO-66, with that of the former being similar to that of zeolite H-ZSM-5, and with that of the latter being slightly stronger than that of the former. Even though the acid density can efficiently be modified through changing the relative ratio in multivariate functionalized UiO-66-X, no significant alternation for the acid strength could be discerned in the MTV-UiO-66-X compared with acidic same-link counterpart. Theoretical calculations were employed to further confirm the acid strength of UiO-66-SO₃H and UiO-66-2COOH.     

氟改性UiO-66固载钼基过氧化物催化氧化含硫化合物

采用预修饰方法对UiO-66进行配体官能团改性, 通过引入—F调控UiO-66的表面亲疏水性质; 其次, 通过引入—NH₂在UiO-66骨架上锚定MoO(O₂)₂. 接触角测试表明, 氟的引入有效地提高了载体表面的疏水性; 热重分析证明, 氟修饰的UiO-66骨架上存在更多配体缺失, 从而有效提高了整体MOF骨架的Lewis酸性. 以二苯并噻吩(DBT)氧化为氧化脱硫模型反应, 过氧化氢异丙苯(CHP)为氧化剂, 采用正交实验考察了反应温度、 氧硫比及催化剂用量对催化性能的影响, 其中氧硫比是影响DBT转化率的决定性因素. 经过氟改性后的催化剂经过5次催化反应循环后其催化活性未见明显变化, 且骨架仍保持稳定.     

Functionalizing porous zirconium terephthalate UiO-66(Zr) for natural gas upgrading: a computational exploration

The ligand functionalization effect on the CO(2)/CH(4) separation performance of the MOF type UiO-66(Zr) was explored computationally. The -SO(3)H and -CO(2)H functionalized forms show the highest selectivity, good working capacity and medium ranged CO(2) adsorption enthalpy that make these materials very promising for physisorption-based processes.