Development of Cationic Benzimidazole-Containing UiO-66 through Step-by-Step Linker Modification to Enhance the Initial Sorption Rate and Sorption Capacities for Heavy Metal Oxo-Anions

Solvent-free fabrication of an Ni2P/UiO-66 catalyst for the hydrogenation of furfural to cyclopentanone

Dispersing metal phosphides on supports with large surface areas is a feasible way to boost the catalytic hydrogenation performance. However, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are very promising porous materials, have rarely been used to load metal phosphides owing to the harsh synthesis conditions of metal phosphides. This work demonstrated a facile and solvent-free method to construct a highly dispersed Ni2P/UiO-66 catalyst (the particle size of Ni2P was 2.9 nm). In this method, a nickel precursor was loaded on UiO-66 via simple ball milling, followed by phosphatization, to obtain the Ni2P/UiO-66 catalyst using sodium hypophosphite at 300 °C. This solvent-free process is in line with the concept of green synthesis. In addition, the prepared Ni2P/UiO-66 catalyst showed good catalytic performance for the hydrogenation of furfural to cyclopentanone, with 97.5% yield of cyclopentanone under the conditions of 0.5 MPa H2 at 150 °C for 10 h.

Hexavalent Chromium Reduction Mediated by Interfacial Electron Transfer over the Co@NC Nanosheet-Assembled Microflowers

The reductive transformation of Cr(VI) into Cr(III) mediated by formic acid with efficient, stable, and cost-effective catalysts is a promising strategy for remediating Cr(VI) contamination. Herein, we report the facile construction of uniform Co@NC nanosheet-assembled microflowers for the reduction of Cr(VI). Both experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the vital role of the intensive interfacial electronic interaction between Co nanoparticles and the N-doped carbon layer in facilitating the anchoring and dispersion of Co nanoparticles within the carbon framework. The interfacial electron transfer from Co to NC contributes to the interaction with Cr2O72- ions, promoting the subsequent H-transfer reaction. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model has been established for the Cr(VI) reduction catalyzed by the CNCF2 (pyrolyzed at 700 °C), which shows a superior reaction performance. This study provides a facile strategy to delicately design well-assembled heterostructures with rich interfaces and strong interfacial interactions for a series of applications in environmental/thermal catalysis.