Staff directory Yunhui Yang

Publications

2020

• Enzyme-Powered Porous Micromotors Built from a Hierarchical Micro- And Mesoporous UiO-Type Metal-Organic Framework

  Yang Y., Arqué X., Patiño T., Guillerm V., Blersch P.-R., Pérez-Carvajal J., Imaz I., Maspoch D., Sánchez S. Journal of the American Chemical Society; 142 (50): 20962 - 20967. 2020. 10.1021/jacs.0c11061. IF: 14.612

  Here, we report the design, synthesis, and functional testing of enzyme-powered porous micromotors built from a metal-organic framework (MOF). We began by subjecting a presynthesized microporous UiO-type MOF to ozonolysis, to confer it with mesopores sufficiently large to adsorb and host the enzyme catalase (size: 6-10 nm). We then encapsulated catalase inside the mesopores, observing that they are hosted in those mesopores located at the subsurface of the MOF crystals. In the presence of H2O2 fuel, MOF motors (or MOFtors) exhibit jet-like propulsion enabled by enzymatic generation of oxygen bubbles. Moreover, thanks to their hierarchical pore system, the MOFtors retain sufficient free space for adsorption of additional targeted species, which we validated by testing a MOFtor for removal of rhodamine B during self-propulsion. © 2020 American Chemical Society.

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• Selective Methanol-to-Formate Electrocatalytic Conversion on Branched Nickel Carbide

  Li J., Wei R., Wang X., Zuo Y., Han X., Arbiol J., Llorca J., Yang Y., Cabot A., Cui C. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition; 59 (47): 20826 - 20830. 2020. 10.1002/anie.202004301. IF: 12.959

  A methanol economy will be favored by the availability of low-cost catalysts able to selectively oxidize methanol to formate. This selective oxidation would allow extraction of the largest part of the fuel energy while concurrently producing a chemical with even higher commercial value than the fuel itself. Herein, we present a highly active methanol electrooxidation catalyst based on abundant elements and with an optimized structure to simultaneously maximize interaction with the electrolyte and mobility of charge carriers. In situ infrared spectroscopy combined with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that branched nickel carbide particles are the first catalyst determined to have nearly 100 % electrochemical conversion of methanol to formate without generating detectable CO2 as a byproduct. Electrochemical kinetics analysis revealed the optimized reaction conditions and the electrode delivered excellent activities. This work provides a straightforward and cost-efficient way for the conversion of organic small molecules and the first direct evidence of a selective formate reaction pathway. © 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH

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