Investigating the effect of metal nuclearity on activity for ethylene hydrogenation by metal-organic-framework-supported oxy-Ni(II) catalysts

•A metal-organic framework (MOF) was used to systematically modulate the nuclearity of oxo-Ni(II) catalysts.•Multinuclear Ni species exhibited higher rates for ethylene hydrogenation than single-Ni species.•Ni species of higher nuclearity accelerated reactions by providing additional coordination sites for reaction intermediates.