Study on Bimetallic Cu/Ni-MOFs Catalysts for Cycloaddition Reaction of Carbon Dioxide with Epoxides

The as-prepared three catalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, XPS, HADDF-STEM-EDS, FT-IR, and other analytical techniques. Meanwhile, the catalytic performances of the three catalysts were investigated in the cycloaddition reaction of styrene oxide with CO2.

The results revealed that bimetallic Cu/Ni-MOFs exhibited outstanding catalytic performance with a conversion of 93% and selectivity of 99%, which was remarkably superior to those of monometallic Cu-MOFs (58% conversion, 99% selectivity) and Ni-MOFs (69% conversion, 99% selectivity). The enhanced catalytic activity was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between Cu2+ and Ni2+ bimetallic ions, which effectively regulated the electronic structure of the catalyst and improved the catalytic activity and stability of active sites.