Zeolitic BIF Crystal Directly Producing Noble-Metal Nanoparticles in Its Pores for Catalysis

As an integral part of a porous framework and uniformly distributed throughout the internal pore space, the high density of the exposed B–H bond in zeolite-like porous BIF-20 (BIF = Boron Imidazolate Framework) is shown here to effectively produce nanoparticles within its confined pore space. Small noble-metal nanoparticles (Ag or Au) are directly synthesized into its pores without the need for any external reducing agent or photochemical reactions, and the resulting Ag@BIF-20 (or Au@BIF-20) samples show high catalytic activities for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.