Preparation of Co-based N-doped Meso-microporous Carbon for Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes

The development of high-efficiency and low-cost heterogeneous catalysts with superior selectivity for the reduction of nitro compounds is desirable. Herein, we prepared Co-based nitrogen-doped meso-microporous carbon (Co/N-C) derived from polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-67 as a heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of aromatic amines via in-situ restricted pyrolysis. The structure, morphology, and catalytic activity of Co/N-C were investigated, and the results indicated that Co/N-C-800 has the combined advantage of the excellent catalytic activity of cobalt nanoparticles and the high mass transfer rate of the N-doped meso-microporous carbon framework, achieving superior catalytic ability for the selective hydrogenation of 20 representative nitroaromatic compounds. Co/N-C-800 was recyclable by simple separation due to the strong magnetism of the Co nanoparticles and exhibited excellent reusability, with 100 % yield of aniline even after six cycles. The catalytic reduction may be attributed to the dissociation of hydrazine to H+/H- via the action of Co/N-C.