Enhanced CO oxidation in porous metal-oxide nanoparticles derived from MOFs

Abstract

Porous nanoparticles integrating the advantages of porosity and structural coherence typically possess numerous active sites confined on their surfaces. In this study, porous Co₃O₄, Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are synthesised by one-step pyrolysis from metal–organic frameworks (MIL-101 (Fe) and ZIF-67 (Co)) to test the performance of CO oxidation. The prepared porous nanoparticles have uniform and stable porous structures without obvious shrinkage and structural collapse. The best catalytic performance was achieved by the porous Co₃O₄ nanoparticles, which reached 100% CO conversion at 130 °C without any decay in catalytic activity after 48 h of reaction. DRIFTS results present the mechanism of the CO oxidation by porous Co₃O₄ nanoparticle catalysis. The excellent catalytic activity of the porous Co₃O₄ nanoparticles is related to the large specific surface area and surface oxygen vacancies. This work provides a design approach for synthesizing other porous metal oxide nanoparticles and has reference value in the field of CO oxidation.