Catalytic hydrogenation of quinoline over recyclable palladium nanoparticles supported on tannin grafted collagen fibers

Abstract

Black wattle tannin (BT), a typical natural plant polyphenol, was grafted onto collagen fiber (CF) to act as the stabilizer and carrier of Pd nanoparticles, and as a result, a recyclable heterogeneous Pd catalyst (Pd-BT-CF) was synthesized. The main physicochemical properties of the Pd-BT-CF catalyst were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). It was found that the catalyst was in an ordered fibrous state, on which Pd nanoparticles with diameter of 4 nm were highly dispersed. Subsequently, the Pd-BT-CF catalyst was employed for the hydrogenation of quinoline. The influences of reaction time, temperature, H 2 pressure and solvent on the catalytic hydrogenation of quinoline were systematically investigated. The experimental results suggested that the Pd-BT-CF catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity and selectivity for quinoline hydrogenation. The average turnover frequency (TOF) of Pd-BT-CF was as high as 165.3 mol mol −1 h −1, and the selectivity to 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline was 100% when the reaction was carried out at 60 °C and 2.0 MPa for 1.0 h. Moreover, the activity and selectivity of Pd-BT-CF catalyst were not significantly reduced after being reused 6 times, exhibiting a satisfied reusability. Further XPS, Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) and TEM analyses confirmed that the Pd species were stabilized by the hydroxyls of BT-CF, which prevented the aggregation and leakage of Pd during the reaction.