Solvent-free synthesis of mesoporous platinum-aluminum oxide via mechanochemistry: Toward selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline

Embedding Hierarchical Pores by Mechanochemistry in Carbonates with Superior Chemoselective Catalysis and Stability

Hierarchical porosity of carbonates can facilitate their performance in massive applications as compared to their corresponding bulk samples. Traditional solution-based precipitation is typically utilized to fabricate porous carbonates. However, this tactic is generally employed under humid conditions, which demand soluble metal precursors, solvents, and extended dry periods. A salt-assisted mechanochemistry is exploited in contemporary work to settle the shortcomings. Enlighted by solid-state technology, this approach eliminates the utilization of solvents, and the process of ball milling can create pores in 5 min. A range of highly porous carbonates and their derivatives are acquired, with several materials surpassing recording surface areas (e.g., H-CaCO3: 108 m2/g, SrCO3: 125 m2/g, BaCO3: 172 m2/g, Pd/H-CaCO3 catalyst: 101 m2/g). The results display that Pd/H-CaCO3 shows superior catalytic efficiency in the synthesis of aniline (turnover frequency [TON] = 1.33 × 104/h-1, yield ≥ 99%, and recycle stability: 11 cycles) and dye degradation. Combining mechanochemistry and salt-assisted tactic provides a facile and efficient pathway for processing porous materials.

Mechanochemical Synthesis of Thiazolidinone-Triazoles Derivatives as Antidiabetic Agents: Pharmacokinetics, Molecular Docking, and In Vitro Antidiabetic Properties

Mechanochemistry is an eco-friendly and solventless method. In the present study, the surface of a custom-made closed mortar and pestle is used as a catalyst to synthesize thiazolidinone-triazole derivatives successfully. The compounds were subjected to potential antidiabetic activity. The results showed that para-chloro-substituted derivative (9c) is most active with IC50 values of 10±1.56. All three compounds 9a-9c with a maximum of 20% inhibition for ALR1 represent superior selectivity toward the targeted ALR2 to act as a lead in the search for new antidiabetic agents.

Comparison of Catalysts with MIRA21 Model in Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation of Aromatic Nitro Compounds

The vast majority of research and development activities begins with a detailed literature search to explore the current state-of-the-art. However, this search becomes increasingly difficult as we go into the information revolution of 21st century. The aim of the work is to establish a functional and practical mathematical model of catalyst characterization and exact comparison of catalysts. This work outlines the operation of the MIskolc RAnking 21 (MIRA21) model through the reaction of nitrobenzene catalytic hydrogenation to aniline. A total of 154 catalysts from 45 research articles were selected, studied, characterized, ranked, and classified based on four classes of descriptors: catalyst performance, reaction conditions, catalyst conditions, and sustainability parameters. MIRA21 is able to increase the comparability of different types of catalysts and support catalyst development. According to the model, 8% of catalysts received D1 (top 10%) classification. This ranking model is able to show the most effective catalyst systems that are suitable for the production of aniline.

Pre-Coking Strategy Strengthening Stability Performance of Supported Nickel Catalysts in Chloronitrobenzene Hydrogenation

Supported nickel catalysts represent a class of important catalytic materials in selective hydrogenations, but applications are frequently limited by metal agglomeration or active-site blocking induced by the presence of hydrogen halides. Herein, we report a novel pre-coking strategy, exposing the nickel nanoparticles under methane dry reforming conditions to manipulate performance in the continuous-flow hydrogenation of 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene. Compared with the pristine nickel catalyst, the nanotube-like coke-modified nickel catalyst showed weakened hydrogenating ability, but much improved stability and slightly better selectivity to the target product, 3,4-dichloroaniline. Characterization results revealed that the strengthened stability performance can be mainly linked to the reduced propensity to retain chlorine species, which seems to block the access of the substrate molecules to the active sites, and thus is a major cause of catalyst deactivation on the pristine nickel catalyst. Coke deposition can occur on the pre-coked nickel catalyst but not on the pristine analog; however, the impact on the stability performance is much milder compared with that on chlorine uptake. In addition, the presence of coke is also beneficial in restraining the growth of the nickel nanoparticles. Generally, the developed method might provide an alternative perspective on the design of novel transition-metal-based catalytic materials for other hydrogenation applications under harsh conditions.

Preparation of highly effective carbon black supported Pd-Pt bimetallic catalysts for nitrobenzene hydrogenation

Carbon black (CB) supported palladium-platinum catalysts were prepared with and without nickel(II) oxide or iron(III) oxide promoter materials. By applying ultrasonic cavitation highly efficient CB supported catalysts were created. The designed catalyst preparation is a one-step procedure, as post-treatments (e.g. calcination, hydrogen activation) are not necessary. The activation of the catalysts occurs during their preparation due to the ultrasonic cavitation. Thus, a fast and simple catalyst preparation procedure have been developed. The activity of the catalysts was compared in nitrobenzene hydrogenation at different temperatures in the range of 283-323 K at 20 bar hydrogen pressure. In terms of selectivity and aniline yield, no significant differences were detected even when promoters were present. By using the NiO promoter, the activation energy was extremely low (7.6 ± 0.7 kJ mol^-1). The selectivity was over 99% in every case, and 99.6% aniline yield was achieved without any promoters (99.7% with NiO), while less than 1.0% by-products were formed. The reaction rate was high with every catalyst, and no significant differences were detected. All in all, the prepared catalysts show excellent catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene.

Fabrication of Pd/Mg2 P2 O7 via a Struvite-Template Way from Wastewater and Application as Chemoselective Catalyst in Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes

A highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst Pd/Mg₂ P₂ O₇ was fabricated by combining palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) and mesoporous Mg₂ P₂ O₇ fibers/rods. Mg₂ P₂ O₇ fibers with ultra-high specific surface area were prepared from struvite as templates, which were synthesized from waste water containing N- and P-containing pollutants. This strategy provided a novel pathway for developing advanced catalysts from eutrophication-polluted water. The composite Pd/Mg₂ P₂ O₇ showed brilliant performance in selective hydrogenation of nitro aromatics to give anilines. As an example of nitrobenzene hydrogenation, the conversion to aniline and selectivity were found to reach almost 100 % at a temperature of T=90 °C and under a pressure of P H 2 =2.0 MPa. The superior performance was found to originate from PdNPs, which were boosted by electron transfer afforded by the nanofiber Mg₂ P₂ O₇ supports. The favorable adsorption of withdrawing groups (-NO₂ ) was realized by synergistic effects between Pd and oxygen vacancies provided by pyrolysis of struvite. The catalyst remained stable after cycles of reuse with little degradation in catalytic performance.

Sol-Gel Synthesis of Spherical Mesoporous High-Entropy Oxides

High-entropy oxides (HEOs) have attracted increasing interest owing to their unique structures and fascinating physicochemical properties. Spherical mesoporous HEOs further inherit the advantages of spherical mesoporous materials including high surface area and tunable pore size. However, it is still a huge challenge to construct HEOs with uniform spheres and a mesoporous framework. Herein, a wet-chemistry sol-gel strategy is demonstrated for the synthesis of spherical mesoporous HEOs (e.g., Ni-Co-Cr-Fe-Mn oxide) with high specific surface area (42-143 m²/g), large pore size (5.5-8.3 nm), unique spherical morphology (∼55 nm), and spinel structure without any impure crystal phase using polyphenol as a polymerizable ligand. The metal/polyphenol-formaldehyde resin colloidal spheres are first synthesized via a sol-gel process. Because of their abundant catechol groups and strong chelating ability with different metal species, polyphenols can not only accommodate five different metal ions in their networks but also be well polymerized by formaldehyde to form colloidal spheres. After calcination, the metal species aggregate together to form HEOs, while the organic resin is fully decomposed to produce mesopores. Because of the open framework with accessible mesopores, they could be used as a peroxymonosulfate catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants and a nanoplatform for efficient detection of DNA. This work demonstrates a straightforward sol-gel strategy for design and synthesis of spherical mesoporous high-entropy materials, which would promote the exploration of new properties of high-entropy materials and extend their application.

Mechanochemical redox: a calcination-free process to support CoMnOx catalysts

A calcination-free process (mechanochemical redox loading method) to load CoMnO_x onto various supports for efficient and stable CO oxidation.