Issue 38, 2022

Cu-functionalised porous boron nitride derived from a metal–organic framework

Abstract

Porous boron nitride (BN) displays promising properties for interfacial and bulk processes, e.g. molecular separation and storage, or (photo)catalysis. To maximise porous BN's potential in such applications, tuning and controlling its chemical and structural features is key. Functionalisation of porous BN with metal nanoparticle represents one possible route, albeit a hardly explored one. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely used as precursors to synthesise metal functionalised porous carbon-based materials, yet MOF-derived metal functionalised inorganic porous materials remain unexplored. Here, we hypothesise that MOFs could also serve as a platform to produce metal-functionalised porous BN. We have used a Cu-containing MOF, i.e. Cu/ZIF-8, as a precursor and successfully obtained porous BN functionalised with Cu nanoparticles (i.e. Cu/BN). While we have shown control of the Cu content, we have not yet demonstrated it for the nanoparticle size. The functionalisation has led to improved light harvesting and enhanced electron–hole separation, which have had a direct positive impact on the CO2 photoreduction activity (production formation rate 1.5 times higher than pristine BN and 12.5 times higher than g-C3N4). In addition, we have found that the metal in the MOF precursor impacts porous BN's purity. Unlike Cu/ZIF-8, a Co-containing ZIF-8 precursor led to porous C-BN (i.e. BN with a large amount of C in the structure). Overall, given the diversity of metals in MOFs, one could envision our approach as a method to produce a library of different metal functionalised porous BN samples.

Graphical abstract: Cu-functionalised porous boron nitride derived from a metal–organic framework

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Upu 2022
Accepted
04 Leo 2022
First published
06 Leo 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022,10, 20580-20592

Cu-functionalised porous boron nitride derived from a metal–organic framework

T. Tian, J. Xu, Y. Xiong, N. Ramanan, M. Ryan, F. Xie and C. Petit, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 20580 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA05515E

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