In Situ Construction of Pt-Ni NF@Ni-MOF-74 for Selective Hydrogenation ofp-Nitrostyrene by Ammonia Borane

Pt-Ni nanoframes (Pt-Ni NFs) exhibit outstanding catalytic properties for several reactions owing to the large numbers of exposed surface active sites, but its stability and selectivity need to be improved. Herein, an in situ method for construction of a core-shell structured Pt-Ni NF@Ni-MOF-74 is reported using Pt-Ni rhombic dodecahedral as self-sacrificial template. The obtained sample exhibits not only 100 % conversion for the selective hydrogenation ofp-nitrostyrene top-aminostyrene conducted at room temperature, but also good selectivity (92 %) and high stability (no activity loss after fifteen runs) during the reaction. This is attributed to the Ni-MOF-74 shell in situ formed in the preparation process, which can stabilize the evolved Pt-Ni NF and donate electrons to the Pt metals that facilitate the preferential adsorption of electrophilic NO(2)group. This study opens up new vistas for the design of highly active, selective, and stable noble-metal-containing materials for selective hydrogenation reactions.