Monodisperse Cu Nanoparticles Supported on a Versatile Metal–Organic Framework for Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2

Rare-earth metal–organic frameworks (REMOFs) based on polynuclear metal clusters are an emerging class of materials that have shown promise for CO2 capture and conversion. In this work, copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were successfully installed on a cluster-based Y(III) MOF to yield a composite material, CuNP-Y-TBAP. The abundance of Cu binding sites on the Y(III) clusters allowed a remarkably high Cu loading to be achieved, and electron microscopy demonstrated that the MOF-supported CuNPs are exceptionally small and monodisperse. CuNP-Y-TBAP was found to be an active heterogeneous catalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO2, yielding CO and CH4 as the primary CO2 reduction products.