Fabrication of Octahedral Cu@Graphitic Carbon Cage Complex Porous Structures and Their Microwave-Driven Catalytic Activity

Abstract

A novel porous octahedral Cu@graphitic carbon cage (Cu@GCC) was successfully fabricated by rapid room-temperature synthesis of a Cu-based metal–organic framework (MOF) with further pyrolysis in N2. The as-obtained Cu@GCCs show a unique structure where well-dispersed Cu nanoparticles (NPs) were encapsulated in porous carbon cages. Compared to Cu/Cu2O@GCCs, CuO/Cu2O@GCCs, a graphitic carbon matrix, and pure Cu, the Cu@GCCs exhibited the best catalytic activity toward the degradation of lomefloxacin (LOM) and methylene blue (MB) under microwave irradiation (MI). Microwave-driven enhanced catalytic activity of Cu@GCCs was mainly ascribed to synergistic contributions of plasmonic Cu NPs and carbon cages as well as their unique open porous structure facilitating the mass transfer and highly efficient microwave energy harvesting. The Cu NPs play a pivotal role of oxidation active center in this catalytic process. The longevity and reusability of Cu@GCCs were enhanced by the protective role of the carbon layer. T...