Grafting EDTA in UiO-66 to modulate the microenvironment of Rh for 1-hexene Hydroformylation

Oriented designing the microenvironment of catalytic sites is essential for understanding catalytic processes. In this work, EDTA was first grafted in UiO-66 and then chelated Rh to obtain an efficient catalyst for 1-hexene hydroformylation reaction. EDTA not only served as a chelation site for Rh immobilization in UiO-66, but also markedly influenced the structure and properties of Rh/UiO-66. The incorporation of EDTA reduced the micropore content and suppressed the formation of heavy products. Moreover, the grafted EDTA regulated the electronic state of Rh effectively to improve the CO and propene adsorption, thus constructing an appropriate microenvironment for hydroformylation. Therefore, EDTA-modified Rh/U-E catalyst exhibited higher aldehydes yield, TOF and stability than Rh/U without EDTA. The dual role of EDTA in anchoring Rh sites and modulating the microenvironment for hydroformylation provides more prospects for designing customized MOFs-based catalysts.