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Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
Ag2(0) dimers within a thioether-functionalized MOF catalyze the CO2 to CH4 hydrogenation reaction
Yongkun Zheng1, Nuria Martín2, Mercedes Boronat1
1Instituto de Tecnología Química (UPV-CSIC), Universidad Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avda. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
Abstract:
Ultrasmall silver clusters in reduced state are difficult to synthesize since silver atoms tend to rapidly aggregate into bigger entities. Here, we show that dimers of reduced silver (Ag2) are formed within the framework of a metal-organic framework provided with thioether arms in their walls (methioMOF), after reduction with NaBH4 of the corresponding Ag+-methioMOF precursor. The resulting Ag2-methioMOF catalyzes the methanation reaction of carbon dioxide (CO2 to CH4 hydrogenation reaction) under mild reaction conditions (1 atm CO2, 4 atm H2, 140 °C), with production rates much higher than Ag on alumina and even comparable to the state-of-the-art Ru on alumina catalyst (Ru-Al2O3) under these reaction conditions, according to literature results.
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