Rational Preparation and Catalytic Performance of Dual-Functional Dendritic Fibrous Nanosilica/Au/Pd@UiO-66-NH ₂ Nanohybrids

The rational design and fabrication of multifunctional catalysts that combine nano metal–organic frameworks with bimetallic nanoparticles for efficient, recyclable multistep catalysis remain highly challenging. This research focused on the hierarchical assembly of hybrid nanostructures that integrate dendritic fibrous nanosilica (DFNS) with Au/Pd nanoparticles and a zirconium(IV)-based metal–organic framework (UiO-66-NH2). During synthesis, the growth of UiO-66-NH2 on the DFNS surface could be controlled, leading to either island-like structures or a full surface coverage. The nanospace of DFNS@UiO-66-NH2 was utilized for embedding Au/Pd nanoparticles to construct the DFNS/Au/Pd@UiO-66-NH2 nanoarchitectures. Compared with the individual constituents, the synthesized nanohybrids exhibit markedly enhanced catalytic efficiency for the tandem oxidation of aromatic alcohols coupled with Knoevenagel condensation.