Polyoxometalate-based crystalline tubular microreactor: redox-active inorganic-organic hybrid materials producing gold nanoparticles and catalytic properties

Here, we synthesize a novel polyoxometalate-based crystalline tubular inorganic-organic compound, Mn[Zn(im)](2){[Na(H2O)](2)[Mn(H2O)(2)][Zn(im)(2)][P4Mo6O31H6](2)}center dot 8H(2)O (IFMC-100) (im and IFMC correspond to imidazole and Institute of Functional Material Chemistry, respectively). Au-anchored tubular microreactor, Au@IFMC-100, has been prepared by simple immersion of IFMC-100 in an ethanol solution of HAuCl4 without any extra reducing agents, photochemical and electrochemical auxiliaries. Furthermore, IFMC-100 and Au@IFMC-100 have been employed as catalysts for the reduction of K3Fe(CN)(6) and 4-nitrophenol with NaBH4 in aqueous solution, respectively. The results indicate the as-prepared Au@IFMC-100 microtubes exhibit enhanced catalytic performance in redox catalysis.