Morphology Control Synthesis of ZIF-8 as Highly Efficient Catalyst for the Cycloaddition of CO2 to Cyclic Carbonate

Morphology control synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) is very important to understand its morphology, structure, and catalytic property relationships. Herein, morphology control synthesis of ZIF-8 was achieved through an efficient and environmentally friendly one-pot heating strategy. Different sophisticated ZIF-8, such as solid spheres, hollow spheres, hierarchical particles, and stackable particles, were obtained by using different surfactants as templates. The sophisticated ZIF-8 can be employed directly as a catalyst for cycloaddition reaction between CO2 and styrene oxide. The high specific surface areas and most abundant acid-base sites are account for the superior catalytic performance of ZIF-8 solid spheres, and the rich mesopores provides channels for the mass transfer of large reactants or product molecules, facilitating the accessibility of reactive sites and increasing catalytic activity. ZIF-8 solid spheres showed enhanced catalytic activity and excellent recyclability and are thus potential heterogeneous catalysts in various catalytic reactions.