Premium
Metal–Organic Gels Derived from Iron(III) and Pyridine Ligands: Morphology, Self‐Healing and Catalysis for Ethylene Selective Dimerization
Author(s) -
Li Botian,
Zhou Xue,
Liu Xiangyun,
Ye Haimu,
Zhang Ying,
Zhou Qiong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201900131
Subject(s) - catalysis , selectivity , metal , ligand (biochemistry) , materials science , pyridine , ethylene , transmission electron microscopy , steric effects , scanning electron microscope , chemistry , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , biochemistry , receptor , engineering
Metal‐organic gels showing potential application in catalysis have received much concern. In this work, we designed and synthesized two metal‐organic gels based on coordination between Fe III and pyridine ligands at room temperature. The gels were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to reveal their assembly structures and morphologies, and it was found the metal‐organic gel derived from di‐topic ligand was composed of three‐dimensional network of nanofibers, while the gel derived from tri‐topic ligand was constituted of sponge‐like structure with amorphous phase. Rheological analysis showed the gel consisting of nanofiber networks displayed self‐healing property. The gels were used as catalysts for selective ethylene dimerization, and the optimum catalysis results of the gel with nanofibers reached the maximal catalytic activity of 1.48×10 5 g/(mol Fe⋅h) with C 4 yield more than 90 %, whereas the sponge‐like gel only gave 38 % C 4 products at the same condition. The higher dimerization selectivity of the former Fe III gel was attributed to its regular assembly structure and lower steric hindrance of the surface metal sites. Due to its catalytic activity, high selectivity and preparation simplicity, the Fe III gel might be potentially applicable for the preparation of C 4 α‐olefins.