(417l) Encapsulation of Gold Nanoparticles in Uio-66

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous, crystalline materials consisting of a metal or metal oxide center connected by organic linkers. Their high surface areas and pore volumes, uniform pore size distributions, and chemical tunability give them potential in applications such as gas storage and separation, drug delivery, biomedical imaging, air purification, and catalysis. Recently, incorporating metal and metal oxide nanoparticles within the MOF has been explored. MOF composites will utilize the interesting chemical and physical properties of the nanomaterials, coupled with the selectivity of MOFs. These materials have potential for applications in sensing, improved adsorption and storage, and catalysis. The controlled preparation of MOF composites can be accomplished using an encapsulation procedure which grows the MOF around the pre-formed nanomaterials.

UiO-66 is a zirconium based material that is chemically resistant in humid, acidic, and basic environments. It can also be tuned to target specific molecules by a simple linker substitution. This chemical resistivity and tunability make it an attractive nanomaterial support for a range of potential applications. Unfortunately, the production of HCl during the conventional UiO-66 synthesis negatively interacts with many nanomaterials including gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles are particularly attractive materials because of their low temperature catalysis capabilities of toxic gases such as CO.  This presentation will introduce work on encapsulating gold nanoparticles in UiO-66 using a novel synthesis procedure that eliminates HCl formation and addition.