CO2 methanation with MOF-derived hierarchically porous spherical carbon nanocomposite incorporating cobalt nanoparticles

In this work, a spherical and hierarchical carbon-based nanocomposite containing dispersed cobalt nanoparticles is introduced. The preparation of this material is based on a facile microwave-assisted synthesis of a cobalt-based metal-organic framework containing a 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic linker (labeled as NDC) and its subsequent carbonization at either 600 °C or 700 °C in an argon atmosphere. The resulting materials exhibit unique morphology and feature small Co nanoparticles with sizes of about 3.1 and 6.0 nm, respectively, evenly dispersed on the carbon matrix. In the methanation of carbon dioxide, these CoNDC-derived nanocomposites achieved a methane formation rate of up to 10.5 μmol CH4 g cat −1 s −1 at 350 °C, with 100% selectivity to methane. Such behavior is ascribed to a high content of accessible small metallic cobalt nanoparticles present in the hierarchical structure of CoNDC nanocomposite catalysts, highlighting their promising potential for CO 2 utilization in industry. • New CoNDC MOF-derived porous spherical carbon nanocomposite introduced. • Microwave-assisted synthesis from cobalt(II) acetylacetonate precursor used. • Carbonization of MOF leads to metallic cobalt nanoparticles in carbon matrix. • Evenly dispersed small cobalt nanoparticles enhance catalytic performance. • High CO 2 conversion (70%) at 350 °C with 100% selectivity to CH 4 .