Boosting Photo-to-Thermal Conversion and 1-Nitronaphthalene Reduction in Fe-MOF via Incorporating Carbon Nanotubes Heat-Storage Cocatalyst

The development of efficient and sustainable photothermal catalytic systems is pivotal for modern organic transformations. Herein, we report the rational design and solvothermal synthesis of NH2-MIL-101(Fe) metal–organic frameworks (NM-101) integrated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the photothermal reduction in nitronaphthalene. The optimized NM-101/75C composites exhibit exceptional catalytic activity and high selectivity under NIR light irradiation, delivering a high yield of 84.4% within 1 h, which significantly outperforms its individual components. Systematic control experiments and detailed spectroscopic investigations reveal a powerful synergistic effect at the MOF-CNT interface, where the CNTs play a dual role in augmenting light harvesting and facilitating charge carrier separation. Furthermore, the high photothermal conversion efficiency of the composite enables rapid reaction kinetics. This work provides a robust and scalable strategy for constructing high-performance photothermal catalysts, offering critical insights into the interfacial engineering of MOF-based materials for industrial chemical manufacturing.