Well-Arranged and Confined Incorporation of PdCo Nanoparticles within a Hollow and Porous Metal–Organic Framework for Superior Catalytic Activity

A convenient method for the confined incorporation of highly active bimetallic PdCo nanocatalysts within a hollow and porous metal–organic framework (MOF) support is presented. Several chemical conversions occur simultaneously during the one-step low temperature pyrolysis of well-designed polystyrene@ZIF-67/Pd ²⁺ core–shell microspheres, where ZIF (zeolitic imidazolate framework) is a subclass of MOF: the polystyrene core is removed, resulting in a beneficial hollow and porous ZIF support; the ZIF-67 shell acts as a well-defined porous support and as a felicitous Co ²⁺ supplier for metal nanoparticle formation; and Pd ²⁺ and Co ²⁺ are reduced to form catalytically active bimetallic PdCo nanoparticles in the well-defined micropores, inducing the confined growth of PdCo nanoparticles with excellent dispersity.