Controlled fabrication of Ag nanoparticles in situ embedded in metal organic gel (MOG) as an efficient recyclable catalyst for the reduction of nitrophenol compounds

Abstract In this work, we reported a facile, scalable and, environmentally friendly approach to encapsulate catalytically active Ag nanoparticles (NPs) in porous metal–organic gel (MOG) via in situ grown. Attributing to the porous and abundant coordination cites in structural features of the MOG, Ag NPs can be readily fixed in the MOG with a uniform distribution. The resultant Ag NPs@MOG hybrid exhibited a remarkable and durable activity for the catalytic reduction of nitrophenol to aminophenol compounds in an aqueous solution. The strategy for preparing hybrid based on MOGs opens a way toward the functional applications of MOGs.