Multifunctional Metal-Organic Frameworks for Cooperative Catalysis

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Wenbin Lin of the University of Chicago is developing new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as cooperative catalysts for chemical synthesis. Cooperative catalysts accelerate two or more steps in concert, which increases the efficiency of chemical bond construction and thereby facilitates multi-step processes.

Although solid catalysts are used in many catalytic reactions, they are difficult to precisely engineer for cooperative catalysis due to the inability to install spatially-controlled catalytic sites. Professor Lin and his research group are addressing this problem by using recent advances in MOFs to build multifunctional MOFs for cooperative catalysis.

A bottom-up approach is being used to build recyclable and reusable multifunctional MOFs with cooperative catalytic sites and to optimize these structures for important chemical synthesis applications in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine-chemical industries. The structure-function relationships between the MOFs and the targeted catalytic processes are being studied to support continued design improvements.

These activities are further being used to support research opportunities for undergraduate and high school students to improve engagement in STEM disciplines.

Many natural enzymes possess multiple precisely engineered active sites to cooperatively catalyze multiple transformations of simple molecules, such as carbon dioxide, to complex molecules, such as carbohydrates, with high efficiency and selectivity. Despite the importance of solid catalysts in the production of commodity chemicals, they cannot be used for cooperative catalysis because of the lack of methods to precisely engineer uniform and synergistic catalytic centers in a spatially controlled manner in these solids.

Professor Lin and his research group will utilize synthetic strategies to prepare new MOFs with large open channels/pores and multifunctional active sites for cooperative catalyst combinations including: (ii) Lewis acid and transition metal catalysts, (ii) photoredox and transition metal catalysts, or (iii) photoredox and Lewis/Bronsted acid catalysts. These MOFs will then being examined for C-C and C-heteroatom cross-coupling, olefin metathesis, and olefin oligomerization reactions.

The intrinsic MOF properties are being leveraged with the aim of discovering viable new catalytic systems and developing biomimetic materials with cooperative functions. This research program will also provide important training for a diverse group of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in the development of sustainable chemical processes for environmental stewardship.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.