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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Synthesis of Single-Crystalline Core-Shell Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: February 10, 2023
Size-confined growth of atom-precise nanoclusters in metal-organic frameworks and their catalytic applications
Lingli Liu1, Yongbo Song2, Hanbao Chong2
1Department of Chemistry and Centre for Atomic Engineering of Advanced Materials, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, P.R. China and Laboratory of Fundamental Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Xinhua University, Hefei, Anhui 230088, P.R. China. zmz@ahu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Using MOFs as size-selection templates, we have for the first time synthesized atom-precise Au11:PPh3 nanoclusters (NCs) and Au13Ag12:PPh3 NCs with high purity by a one-step, in situ reduction method. Specifically, we found that the product released from the frameworks of ZIF-8 is exclusively the Au11:PPh3 NCs rather than polydispersed NCs, and inside MIL-101(Cr) the Au13Ag12:PPh3 NCs constitute the exclusive product. The metal NC@MOF composites are also demonstrated for catalytic application. The high catalytic efficiency for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol indicates that atom-precise noble metal NCs@MOFs may act as a promising class of heterogeneous catalysts. The atom-precise NCs obtained in the MOF templated synthesis imply the future possibility of using MOFs of various pore sizes for the size-selective synthesis of atomically precise NCs. Meanwhile, metal NCs@MOFs will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of nanocatalyst surface reactions and hence opens up enormous opportunities in heterogeneous catalysis.
