CoPd Nanoalloys with Metal-Organic Framework as Template for Both N-Doped Carbon and Cobalt Precursor: Efficient and Robust Catalysts for Hydrogenation Reactions.

Abstract

In this work, a series of metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived CoPd nanoalloys have been prepared. The nanocatalysts exhibited excellent activities in the hydrogenation of nitroarenes and alkenes in green solvent (ethanol/water) under mild conditions (H2 balloon, room temperature). Using ZIF-67 as template for both carbon matrix and cobalt precursor coating with a mesoporous SiO2 layer, the catalyst CoPd/NC@SiO2 was smoothly constructed. Catalytic results revealed a synergistic effect between Co and Pd components in the hydrogenation process due to the enhanced electron density. The mesoporous SiO2 shell effectively prevented the sintering of hollow carbon and metal NPs at high temperature, furnishing the well-dispersed nanoalloy catalysts and better catalytic performance. Moreover, the catalyst was durable and showed negligible activity decay in recycling and scale-up experiments, providing a mild and highly efficient way to access amines and arenes.