Bimetallic Oxide Hollow Structures Induced by Surface Coordination of ZIF-67

Bimetallic hollow nanomaterials which are composed of two different metal/metal oxide materials show great potentials owing to their unique structural features. Here, the second metal ions were introduced into the surface of ZIF-67 by ultrasonication to form bimetallic hollow complexes, and the coordination between the second metal ions and ZIF-67 colloidal crystals are further investigated. A series of bimetallic complexes has been synthesized by incorporating Fe-III, Cu-II and Ni-II into the coordinating block of ZIF-67. After calcination in oxygen, these as-prepared transformed to Fe/Cu/Ni doped Co3O4 hollow nanoboxes. We found a facile and general method to form bimetallic complexes by complexing the second metal ions with ZIF-67 surface ligands and calcining to form bimetallic hollow nanoboxes.