Fabrication of 3d-4f Hetero-metallic Catalyst of Co/CN-CeO₂ Incorporating Nitrogen-doped Carbon for High Performance Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes

Since catalytic hydrogenation of nitroarenes is of great significance in chemical industry, it is imperative to develop an inexpensive and efficient catalyst. To develop high performance catalysts for hydrogenation of nitroarenes, Co-Ce-@Salen/Melamine was prepared by mixing Co-Ce-@Salen complex with melamine in 1:1 mol ratio in a mortar and grinded completely. Further, Co/CN-CeO₂-Melm-T was fabricated via pyrolysis of Co-Ce-@Salen/Melamine precursor in existence of argon atmosphere. Upon Co/CN-CeO₂-Melm-T₃ were applied for catalysis on the reaction of hydrogenation of nitroarenes, it exhibited outstanding catalytic performance in terms of catalytic activity, selectivity, universality and reusability for hydrogenation of nitroarenes. Spectral analysis revealed that the synergistic interaction among highly dispersed metallic Co for the dispersion and activation of hydrogen, unique surface site of CeO₂ for oxygen vacancies, high absorbance ability originated from alkalinity and unique high surface area of Co/CN-CeO₂-Melm-T₃ dominated the highly catalytic activity for the reaction of hydrogenation of nitroarenes. Notably, 3d-4f hetero-metal coordination polymers have seldom been directly employed as a precursor for preparation of inexpensive hetero-metal catalyst. Therefore, this tactic provided an alternative route to fabricate 3d-4f inexpensive hetero-metallic heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation of nitroarenes with high atomic economy.