Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Hierarchical Materials Derived from Metal-Organic Frameworks

Hierarchical materials have many benefits in catalytic applications. We have been specifically interested in the synthesis of hierarchical materials for a variety of energy-related applications including biomass fast pyrolysis, coupling of aldehydes and/or ketones from biomass feed streams, and sulfur removal from petroleum feed sources.^1-4 This presentation will provide our current progress in the following areas: 1) synthesis and characterization of hierarchical metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, and 2) metal nanoparticles supported on hierarchical carbon supports derived from MOFs. I will discuss a vapor-assisted crystallization method developed in our lab using zeolite synthesis literature as inspiration, where a dry gel is initially formed that promotes MOF crystallization and the formation of hierarchical materials. The detailed characterization of these novel materials will be discussed, as well as their catalytic performance.

1. Neumann, G. T.; Hicks, J. C., Cryst. Growth Des. 13 (4), 1535–1542 (2013).
2. Kim, J. et al., ACS App. Mater. & Inter. 5 (21), 11479-11487 (2013).
3. Kim, J., et al., J. Mater. Chem.A. 2 (34), 14014-14027 (2014).
4. McNamara, N. D.; Hicks, J. C., ACS App. Mater. & Inter. 7 (9), 5338-5346 (2015).