Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2025

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
Surface-hydroxylated single-atom catalyst with an isolated Co-O-Zn configuration achieves high selectivity in
Zhi-Quan Zhang1, Pi-Jun Duan1, Chang-Wei Bai1
1Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
Abstract:
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) are emerging as potent tools for the selective regulation of active species, offering substantial promise for green and sustainable Fenton catalysis. However, current SACs face limitations due to the specificity of their supports, which only allow selective regulation within certain oxidant systems. This constraint makes targeted regulation across different systems challenging. In response, this study designs a SAC, termed CoSAs-ZnO, featuring surface hydroxylation and an isolated asymmetric Co-O-Zn configuration. This SAC can realize a nearly 100% selective generation of sulfate radicals (SO4•-) and singlet oxygen (1O2) in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peracetic acid (PAA) systems, respectively. Moreover, the PMS-activated system can efficiently treat electron-deficient-dominated and refractory benzoic acid wastewater, achieving 100.0% removal in multiple consecutive pilot-scale experiments. The PAA-activated system facilitates the rapid conversion of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, with a high selectivity of 89.0%. Detailed DFT calculations reveal that the surface hydroxyl groups on ZnO play a critical role in modulating the adsorption configurations of the oxidants, thus enabling the selective generation of specific active species in each system. This study provides insights into the design of SACs for multifunctional applications and paves the way for their deployment in wastewater treatment and high-value chemical conversion.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Oxidation of Alkenes: Syn Dihydroxylation with Osmium Tetraoxide
Catalysis
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes: Ozonolysis
Ozone is a symmetrical bent molecule stabilized by a resonance structure.
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Hydroboration
Hydroboration proceeds in a concerted fashion with the attack of borane on the π bond, giving a cyclic four-centered transition state. The –BH2 group is bonded to the less substituted carbon and –H to the more substituted carbon. The concerted nature requires the simultaneous addition of –H and –BH2 across the same face of the alkene giving syn...
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Hydroboration-Oxidation
One of the convenient methods for the preparation of aldehydes and ketones is via hydration of alkynes. Hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes is an indirect hydration reaction in which an alkyne is treated with borane followed by oxidation with alkaline peroxide to form an enol that rapidly converts into an aldehyde or a ketone. Terminal alkynes form aldehydes, whereas internal alkynes give ketones as the final product.

