MOF-derived porous Fe2O3 with controllable shapes and improved catalytic activities in H2S selective oxidation

Abstract

We report here a facile approach to tune the morphology of Fe-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of MIL-53(Fe), in which acetic acid is used as a modulator to adjust the assembly directions of the MOFs. As a result, MIL-53(Fe) with controllable morphologies including spindle and short columnar shapes are synthesized. Following the pyrolysis of the MOFs, porous Fe₂O₃ with preserved morphologies are obtained. Impressively, the synthesized Fe₂O₃ exhibits enhanced performance in catalytic selective oxidation of H₂S to sulfur, with the morphologies showing an influence on the catalytic properties.