Metal nanoparticles encapsulated within charge tunable porous coordination cages for hydrogen generation reaction

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles (M NPs) sometimes suffer from low stability and high aggregation, reducing their reactivity during catalytic cycles. In order to obtain stable and ultrafine noble metal (Ru/Rh/Pd) and first-row transition-metal (Co/Ni/Cu) nanoclusters, several porous coordination cages (PCCs) were applied to confine the nanoparticles within their cavities. Because of the electrostatic attraction, metal cations were only encapsulated by PCC-2a with a highly negatively charged cavity. By in situ reduction, M NPs were synthesized within the cavity of PCC-2a to form stable, ultrafine, and highly active catalyst composite. Through characterization by high resolution transmission electron microscope, the synthesized M NPs were found in face-cubic-centered single crystal form, which were rarely reported. In contrast, cages with only 6- negative charges (PCC-2b) or 12+ positive charges (PCC-3) were unable to obtain high crystalline, ultra-small M NPs, resulting in aggregation and large particle size. Finally, the M NPs@PCC catalysts exhibit different activities in methanolysis and hydrolysis of ammonium borane.