Effect of amino-oligophenylenes on the properties of molybdenum disulfide metal-organic frameworks: Rapid catalytic reduction of nitrophenol in water

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) 2D layered structures conjugated with phenylene derivatized oligomers were prepared and used as catalysts for the reduction of p-nitrophenol. A series of nitro and amino functionalized paraphenylenes (n = 2–5) were synthesized. The amino-oligoparaphenylenes were introduced into the MoS2 2D metal framework by the intercalation-exfoliation technique and investigated for their spectral and morphological properties using FTIR, UV–visible, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. MoS2 conjugated with amino derivatized penta-paraphenylene (5-Ph-NH2-MoS2) shows the best catalytic performance, exhibiting an apparent rate constant (kapp) of 0.95 min⁻¹ compared to 0.35 min⁻¹ for MoS2 alone. The activity of 5-Ph-NH2-MoS2@ MoS2 is comparable to and even higher than some previously studied metal–organic hybrid catalysts and opens new approaches for the future design and fabrications of versatile MoS2-based composite materials.

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Author Adrienne Stiff-Roberts Electrical and Computer Engineering

Author Darlene Kimber Taylor Obstetrics and Gynecology