In Situ Synthesis of Core–Shell Pt–Cu Frame@Metal–Organic Frameworks as Multifunctional Catalysts for Hydrogenation Reaction

Controllable integration of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is of significant importance in many applications owing to their unique properties. In situ efficient synthesis of metal NPs with different structures into MOFs is a great challenge. Herein, we report the nanostructures of octahedron and flower Pt–Cu frame@HKUST-1, which is successfully synthesized under a microwave irradiation method in only 30 min. In this study, Pt–Cu alloys, serving as the self-template, are synthesized first, followed by the HKUST-1 shell growing in situ via the consumption of Cu⁰. As multifunctional catalysts, the core–shell structures exhibit excellent performance for the hydrogenation of 1-hexene. Notably, octahedron Pt–Cu frame@HKUST-1 displays high turnover number (TON) and turnover frequency (TOF) of 1004 and 2008 h^–1, respectively. Thanks to the protective effect of HKUST-1, the octahedron Pt–Cu frame@HKUST-1 can be recycled for at least four runs without serious loss of activity and obvious aggregation of Pt–Cu alloys. Furthermore, the size-selective catalysis is also well-demonstrated by choosing 1-hexene, <i>cis</i>-cyclooctene, and styrene as substrates