Highly efficient hydrogenation of nitroarenes by Co nanoparticles encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanotubes under mild conditions

Abstract

The rational design and construction of heterogeneous non-noble metal catalysts with high-performance are greatly needed in practical applications, such as the selective hydrogenation of nitro aromatics. In this study, we developed a new type of cobalt-based catalyst, in which Co nanoparticles (NPs) are encapsulated in porous N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co@NCT) to achieve high efficiency, low cost and excellent durability. The Co nanoparticles greatly improved the catalytic activity by adjusting the electron cloud distribution. Co@NCT-800 exhibits excellent activity, chemo-selectivity and recyclability for converting 14 nitro compounds into the desired amines through hydrogenation using hydrazine hydrate as the reduction agent under mild conditions (25 °C, 20 min, 1 atm). In addition, taking reducing nitrobenzene into aniline as the model reaction, the hydrogenation mechanism was systematically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.