A Green Selective Water-Etching Approach to MOF@Mesoporous SiO₂ Yolk-Shell Nanoreactors with Enhanced Catalytic Stabilities

Despite their open and uniformly distributed active sites, low stability of coordination bonds in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) limits their applications in catalytic reactions, especially under harsh environments. Encapsulation of MOF nanoparticles into rigid shells has been considered as an efficient approach to improve their stability. However, such core-shell structured materials show some disadvantages when applied in catalysis, such as covered active sites and mismatched channels between the core and the shell. In contrast, yolk-shell structured composites afford more exposed active sites, and the internal voids can guarantee sufficient contact of reactants and catalysts. Here, we constructed MOF@mesoporous SiO₂ yolk-shell nanoreactors with enhanced catalytic stabilities via a green selective water-etching method. The design concept and synthetic strategy may be used to construct other highly stable MOF-based nanocatalysts, broadening their applications in diverse reactions.