Co/Cu-MFF derived mesoporous ternary metal oxide microcubes for enhancing the catalytic activity of the CO oxidation reaction

Abstract

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-based derivatives with uniform micro/mesoporous structures have attracted a great deal of interest in various research fields. Herein, we report a simple strategy to design functional mesoporous ternary metal oxides with controlled composition through direct pyrolysis of Co/Cu bimetal-formate frameworks (Co/Cu-MFFs), which were prepared by a facile one-step liquid-phase precipitation method, exhibiting uniform distribution of two different metal species and good structural integrity. The obtained mesoporous ternary metal oxide Cu_xCo_3−xO₄ (x = 0.5, 1) microcubes exhibit much better performance for CO oxidation than pure Co₃O₄, which can be mainly attributed to their larger specific surface areas, stronger reducibility, and the synergistic effect of two active metal oxide components.