In-situ formation of Ag NPs on the ribonic γ-lactone-modified UiO-66-NH2: An effective catalyst for organic synthesis and antibacterial applications

Abstract

Using of eco-friendly, cost-effective, and durable compounds as reducing and stabilizing reagents for metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) has always been alluring for the preparation of nanocatalysts. Herein, a porous heterogeneous catalyst was prepared via green deposition of Ag NPs on the surface of functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), Zr-UiO-66-NH2. Initially, UiO-66-NH2 was modified with D-(+)-ribonic γ-lactone (RL), as a class of carbohydrates (CHs), which provides plenty of hydroxyl groups on the surface for reducing Ag+ ions and stabilizing Ag NPs. The catalytic activity of UiO-66-NH-RL-Ag was tested for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4 and the cyanation of aryl halides, for the first time, in the presence of nontoxic cyanating source K4[Fe(CN)6]·3 H2O. The nanocatalyst effectively reduced 4-nitrophenol with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 333.2 h–1. The kinetic studies illustrated that the reaction follows a pseudo-first-order kinetic. Moreover, UiO-66-NH-RL-Ag exhibited good catalytic activity with high efficiencies in the synthesis of various aryl nitriles. Furthermore, UiO-66-NH-RL-Ag showed a prominent antibacterial activity and inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli).