Insights into the Structure-Property-Activity Relationship of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks for Acid-Base Catalysis

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have been extensively examined for their potential in acid-base catalysis. Many studies have demonstrated that ZIFs possess unique structural and physicochemical properties that allow them to demonstrate high activity and yield products with high selectivity. Herein, we highlight the nature of ZIFs in terms of their chemical formulation and the textural, acid-base, and morphological properties that strongly affect their catalytic performance. Our primary focus is the application of spectroscopic methods as instruments for analyzing the nature of active sites because these methods can allow an understanding of unusual catalytic behavior from the perspective of the structure-property-activity relationship. We examine several reactions, such as condensation reactions (the Knoevenagel condensation and Friedländer reactions), the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides, the synthesis of propylene glycol methyl ether from propylene oxide and methanol, and the cascade redox condensation of 2-nitroanilines with benzylamines. These examples illustrate the broad range of potentially promising applications of Zn-ZIFs as heterogeneous catalysts.

Effect of MAF-6 Crystal Size on Its Physicochemical and Catalytic Properties in the Cycloaddition of CO2 to Propylene Oxide

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks MAF-5 and MAF-6 based on Zn2+ and 2-ethylimidazole were demonstrated to be efficient heterogeneous catalysts in solvent-free coupling of CO2 and propylene oxide (PO) to produce propylene carbonate (PC) at 0.8 MPa of CO2 and 80 °C. Activity of MAF-5 was lower in comparison with MAF-6 due to the difference in their structural and textural characteristics. MAF-6 samples with particle size of 190 ± 20, 360 ± 30, and 810 ± 30 nm were prepared at room temperature from [Zn(NH3)4](OH)2 and 2-ethylimidazole. Control of particle size was achieved by variation of type of alcohol in alcohol/cyclohexane media for the preparation of MAF-6. According to this comprehensive study, the yield of PC was found to decrease with increasing crystal size of the MAF-6 material, which was related to the change in textural properties and the number and localization of active sites. The combination of MAF-6 with particle size of with particle size of 190 ± 20 nm and tetrabutylammonium bromide ([n-Bu4N]Br) as co-catalyst led to an approximately 4-fold enhancement in the yield of PC (80.5%). Compared with reported ZIFs catalysts, the efficiencies of MAF-5/[n-Bu4N]Br and MAF-6/[n-Bu4N]Br binary systems were comparable and higher under similar reaction conditions.

Synthesis of core-shell Ce-modified mixed metal oxides derived from P123-templated layered double hydroxides

Layered double hydroxides are a promising platform material which can be combined with a variety of active species based on their characteristic features. Silicon@P123-templated Ce-doped layered double hydroxide (SiO2@CeMgAl-LDH(P123)) composites were synthesized via a facile in situ co-precipitation method, and characterized by TEM, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, XPS, CO2-, etc. in detail. Meanwhile, the calcined powder (SiO2@CeMgAl-LDO(P123)) possessed an excellent core-shell structure and a high surface area inherited from the LDH structure, which led to an outstanding catalytic activity (99.7% conversion of propylene oxide, 92.4% selectivity of propylene glycol methyl ether) under mild reaction conditions (120 °C). Cerium oxide provides a large number of oxygen vacancies and significantly improves the medium basic strength of the material, which facilitates the selective ring-opening of PO. Furthermore, the introduction and removal of P123 make the cerium oxide uniformly dispersed on the LDH layers, providing more reaction sites for the reaction of methanol and propylene oxide. The core-shell structure prepared by the in situ co-precipitation method could solve the shortcomings of agglomeration of layered double hydroxides and prolong the catalytic life evidently.