Compatible with excellent gold/palladium trap and open sites for green Suzuki coupling by an imidazole-modified MOF

Aiming for materials compatible with enhanced gold/palladium trap and open active sites for green Suzuki coupling, Zr-L1/L2 of UiO-66 topology was feasibly modified with amine and imidazole α-diimine side-groups. Excellent extraction percentage (>98%), high selectivity and outstanding recyclability were obtained by the adsorbent in recovering gold from river water. The saturate adsorption capacity was calculated to reach 1582.5 mg g−1, outperforming most reported sorbents. Furthermore, up to 99% palladium recovery performance in less than 5 min was achieved. Palladium-loaded sample exhibit perfect conversion and excellent recyclability for aqueous-phase Suzuki coupling at room temperature. In this study, the synergistic interactions (coordination, electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding) in the material benefit for the remarkable extraction performance of gold and palladium in river, preventing palladium leaching out and aggregation.