The structure and concentration of catalytically active sites on heterogeneous catalysts must be robust and long-lived in order to be a highly active and economical catalyst. We have designed a heterogeneous catalytic application of inorganic MOFs to obtain amorphous carbon based copper catalysts. These catalysts have small long range sizes despite the agglomerated appearance. However, little is known about how to tune these catalysts for oxidation states and how to control aggregation. Differences in MOF composition lead to different decompositions to obtain crystallite sizes and interactions within the carbon matrix that lead to different activity. The incorporation of copper in catalysts was investigated with powder X-ray diffraction, Raman, scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We demonstrate highly active catalytic ability for C-N, C-O bond formation as well as reduction reactions without further pre-treatment for each of the different reactions. We present that the chemically robust and highly active Cu-carbon composite catalyst is a function of the interaction of copper with carbon and the mixed oxidation states from decomposition.<br/>

Copper-carbon interfaces: Highly active catalysts from inorganic-organic hybrid materials

2019 Fall National Meeting

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