Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable reaction space, and using them as porous photocatalysts also allows the catalyst to be recovered and reused. In practice, though, performance is often constrained by how quickly reactants diffuse through the porous material and how well light reaches the active sites. In this work, we present an approach that pairs a MOF thin-film photocatalyst with a cross-flow microfluidic reactor. The thin film sets a well-defined diffusion length, the transparent thin film let light reach the active layer, and crossflow microfluidics allow diffusion control. Together, these features give control over reactant transport and improve illumination of the photocatalyst. To build the photocatalyst, we noncovalently load Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2 (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) into mesopores created by defects in a hierarchically porous Zr-based UiO-66 thin film. The well-established aerobic oxidation of ethyl 2-bromo-2-phenylacetate to ethyl 2-oxo-2-phenylacetate serves as a benchmark reaction; it is a test case rather than the main finding of the study. Under cross-flow conditions, the photocatalyst reaches a turnover frequency about ten times that of the equivalent MOF powder system, and it also outperforms the homogeneous benchmark. These findings highlight cross-flow microfluidics as a promising strategy for managing both mass transport and light delivery in MOF-based photocatalysis.
Source: ChemRxiv
Language: English
Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G3891155077
OpenAlex ID: W7221604601