Microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of NiS and their promotional effect for the hydrodeoxygenation of p-cresol on MoS2

Iron-doped NiS2 microcrystals with exposed {001} facets for electrocatalytic water oxidation

Developing high-performance electrocatalysts with favorable phase, surface structure and electronic structure for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting. With Fe³⁺ ions as both dopant and morphology-controlling agent, Fe-doped NiS₂ microcrystals with the exposed chemically stable {001} facets were synthesized hydrothermally for electrocatalytic OER. The initial electrocatalytic OER activation processes led to the conversion of iron-rich surface layers of the NiS₂ microcrystals into Fe-doped Ni (oxy)hydroxide as the shell and the residual inner of the NiS₂ microcrystals as the core. Such Fe-doped NiS₂ microcrystals with the derived core/shell structure only required a small OER overpotential of 277 mV to reach an electrochemical current density of 10 mA/cm², and showed a good stability in a more than 20 h duration test almost without overpotential increase.

Highly selective demethylation of anisole to phenol over H4Nb2O7 modified MoS2 catalyst

H₄Nb₂O₇ modified MoS₂ catalyst enables the highly selective demethylation of anisole to phenol which opens a window for the hydrogenolysis of lignin to value-added chemicals.

Nanolayered cobalt-molybdenum sulphides (Co-Mo-S) catalyse borrowing hydrogen C-S bond formation reactions of thiols or H2S with alcohols

Nanolayered cobalt-molybdenum sulphide (Co-Mo-S) materials have been established as excellent catalysts for C-S bond construction. These catalysts allow for the preparation of a broad range of thioethers in good to excellent yields from structurally diverse thiols and readily available primary as well as secondary alcohols. Chemoselectivity in the presence of sensitive groups such as double bonds, nitriles, carboxylic esters and halogens has been demonstrated. It is also shown that the reaction takes place through a hydrogen-autotransfer (borrowing hydrogen) mechanism that involves Co-Mo-S-mediated dehydrogenation and hydrogenation reactions. A novel catalytic protocol based on the thioetherification of alcohols with hydrogen sulphide (H2S) to furnish symmetrical thioethers has also been developed using these earth-abundant metal-based sulphide catalysts.