Rare Earth Oxide Anchored Platinum Catalytic Site Coated Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks toward Enhancing Selective Hydrogenation
Liangmin Ning, Sheng‐Yun Liao, C. Dong, Mingtao Zhang, Wen Gu, Xin Liu
Abstract
Controlling and manipulating the self-assembly technology at the nanoscale has become a powerful strategy for improving chemical processes and further developing the conception of atom efficiency. Herein, an unexpected core–shell structured Gd2O3@Pt@ZIF-8 nanoreactor has been fabricated using the self-assembly strategy in which the firm Gd2O3 nanosupport anchored the highly active Pt nanoparticle coated porous zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8). The well-designed Gd2O3@Pt@ZIF-8 structure shows good performance in selective hydrogenation of aldehyde-, keto-, and nitro-compounds with full conversion (>99.9%) and superior selectivity (>95%). It showed the channel sieving effect of the ZIF-8 channels toward enhancing the catalytic selectivity. After being recycled eight times, their activity remains unchanged and their core–shell structure is kept intact. So, the outer ZIF-8 membranes not only prevent Pt nanoparticles from agglomeration and slipping during a catalytic reaction but also maintain the original activity and long-term stability compared to the Gd2O3@Pt catalyst. The self-assembly strategy demonstrated here will allow the development of other highly active, stable, and selective catalysts for important but challenging transformations.