Well-Arranged and Confined Incorporation of PdCo Nanoparticles within a Hollow and Porous Metal-Organic Framework for Superior Catalytic Activity.

A convenient method for the confined incorporation of highly active bimetallic PdCo nanocatalysts within a hollow and porous metal-organic framework (MOF) support is presented. Several chemical conversions occur simultaneously during the one-step low temperature pyrolysis of well-designed polystyrene@ZIF-67/Pd2+ core-shell microspheres, where ZIF (zeolitic imidazolate framework) is a subclass of MOF: the polystyrene core is removed, resulting in a beneficial hollow and porous ZIF support; the ZIF-67 shell acts as a well-defined porous support and as a felicitous Co2+ supplier for metal nanoparticle formation; and Pd2+ and Co2+ are reduced to form catalytically active bimetallic PdCo nanoparticles in the well-defined micropores, inducing the confined growth of PdCo nanoparticles with excellent dispersity.