The
present review describes the state of the art of the use of
metal organic framework (MOF)-encapsulated Au nanoparticles (NPs)
as heterogeneous catalysts. The purpose is to show that catalysts
with very good performance, frequently among the most active Au catalysts
reported so far, can be obtained by incorporation of Au NPs inside
MOFs. The available data indicate that the high catalytic activity
of MOF-encapsulated Au NPs derives from (i) small particle size, (ii)
high dispersion and homogeneous distribution inside MOFs crystals,
(iii) stabilization of particle size by confinement of Au NPs inside
MOFs cages, and (iv) the synergy that can arise by the combination
of the activity of Au NPs and MOFs. After some introductory sections
presenting general issues commenting about the relevance of Au catalysis,
how to determine the internal versus external location of Au NPs,
and evidence in support for catalyst stability, this mini review covers
reactions using Au@MOFs as catalysts for oxidations, reductions, tandem
processes, and photocatalysis with the emphasis in providing a comparison
with the performance of other alternative Au-containing catalysts.
In the final section, we summarize in our view the current achievements
and which are the next targets in this area.