Pd nanoparticles anchored Co-MOF for nitrophenol reduction.

Three nitrophenols are among the 126 priority toxic pollutants identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Catalyzing hydrogenation is a simple way to convert these toxic nitrophenols into harmless aminophenols. Commercial PdC has excellent catalytic hydrogenation activity but has weaknesses such as high price and low reusability. Here, we fabricated a series of nano-Pd 2D Co-MOF heterostructures and filtered for optimal Co-MOF@Pd, which contain ultra-low Pd content (0.08 wt%) and recorded high catalytic efficiency for 4-nitrophenol among the reported non-single atom catalyst due to edge and size effects. The TOF value of Co-MOF@Pd is 9800 h, ∼206 times higher than that of PdC (Pd content, 10 wt%). Furthermore, Co-MOF@Pd has been widely applied to catalyze the reduction of various nitrophenol substrates with higher than 99% conversion efficiency and selectivity.