Aerobic oxidative coupling of alcohols and amines to imines over iron catalysts supported on mesoporous carbon

Facile synthesis of CoOx@C/Ti-Fe2O3 photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation

The development of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is hindered by the slow kinetics of four-electron processes for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and severe charge recombination. Amorphous carbon was chosen as a carrier for the active sites due to its exceptional conductivity and strong loading capacity. In addition, this enhanced performance was attributed to the loading of oxides of cobalt. Here, amorphous carbon-covered cobalt oxides chosen as a co-catalyst loaded on α-Fe2O3 (noted as CoOx@C/Ti-Fe2O3) have been synthesized, and they show a high current density (2.86 mA cm-2 under 1.23 V vs. RHE), and a low onset potential (0.611 V vs. RHE). Experimental analysis demonstrates that the charge transfer and separation leading to accelerated OER dynamics and improved PEC performance are enhanced by CoOx@C effectively. This study provides new ideas for designing high-performance photoelectrochemical electrodes based on amorphous carbon co-catalysts.

Interfacial Reaction-Directed Green Synthesis of CeO2-MnO2 Catalysts for Imine Production through Oxidative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines

Direct oxidative coupling of alcohols with amines over cheap but efficient catalysts is a promising choice for imine formation. In this study, porous CeO₂-MnO₂ binary oxides were prepared via an interfacial reaction between Ce₂(SO₄)₃ and KMnO₄ at room temperature without any additives. The as-prepared porous CeO₂-MnO₂ catalyst has a higher fraction of Ce³⁺, Mn³⁺, and Mn⁴⁺ and contains larger surface area and more oxygen vacancies. During the oxidative coupling reaction of alcohol with amine to imine, the as-obtained CeO₂-MnO₂ catalyst is motivated by the above encouraging characteristics and exhibits superior catalytic activity (98% conversion and 97% selectivity) and can also work effectively under a wide scope of temperatures and substrates. The in-depth in situ DRIFTS and density functional theory (DFT) results demonstrate that there is a strong interaction between CeO₂ and MnO₂ in the CeO₂-MnO₂ catalyst, exhibiting especially a positive synergistic effect in the direct coupling of alcohol and amine reaction.

Synergism of Iron and Platinum Species for Low-Temperature CO Oxidation: From Two-Dimensional Surface to Nanoparticle and Single-Atom Catalysts

CO oxidation is one of the most studied reactions in heterogeneous catalysis. It is present in air cleaning and automotive emission control. It also participates in the removal of CO from streams of hydrogen used in fuel cells. Because of the competitive adsorption of CO and O₂ over active sites, the use of Pt-based catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation remains a challenge. Recently, great progress has been made with catalysts containing Pt-Fe species because of the contribution of Fe species to O₂ activation. The structure-activity relationship and reaction mechanisms have been investigated with various Pt-Fe catalysts. In this Perspective, we give a summary of the recent advances of low-temperature CO oxidation over Pt-Fe catalysts with a focus on the synergistic effect of Pt and Fe species in the CO and O₂ activation of catalytic reactions. Future prospects for the preparation of highly effective Pt-Fe catalysts are also proposed.

Construction of Cu-based MOFs with enhanced hydrogenation performance by integrating open electropositive metal sites

A kind of new Cu(ii)-MOF with open electropositive metal Cu sites exhibits excellent activity, selectivity and reusability in hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol under mild conditions (25 °C, 1 atm).

Facile synthesis of ultrafine cobalt oxides embedded into N-doped carbon with superior activity in hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol

Design and synthesis of low-cost catalysts with high activity and stability for hydrogenation reactions is an important research area of applied catalysis. In this work, we present a kind of ultrafine cobalt oxides encapsulated by N-doped carbon (donated as CoO_x/CN) as efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) process. The CoO_x/CN was fabricated through a pyrolysis strategy using an N-containing metal-organic framework (Co-MOF) as precursor followed by a fine thermal-treatment. With an optimized pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C, the CoO_x species present as ultrafine particles highly dispersed in the obtained catalyst (CoO_x/CN-500). CoO_x/CN-500 exhibits excellent activity and stability in hydrogenation of 4-NP at ambient conditions. The activity is much higher than that of not only bulk cobalt oxides, but also carbon supported CoO_x catalysts. It could be used for more than 8 times without obvious fading in activity. In addition, the concrete role of Co-MOF precursor and pyrolysis condition in the catalyst design was investigated in detail. The interaction between organic ligands and Co ions and the confinement of the crystalline structure of Co-MOF could restrain the aggregation of Co ions during pyrolysis and lead to high dispersion of ultrafine CoO_x species. Meanwhile, the N-containing ligands could be transformed into doped N species (pyridinic and pyrrolic N), endowing the CoO_x species with high electron density and promoting the formation of active sites for the hydrogenation reaction.

N, S-containing MOF-derived dual-doped mesoporous carbon as a highly effective oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalyst

Uniform N, S-codoping in carbon can be achieved in one step when a N, S-containing MOF (SCUT-12), which features “atom-level control over composition”, is used as the precursor.

CeO2 nanorods anchored on mesoporous carbon as an efficient catalyst for imine synthesis

CeO₂ nanorods anchored on mesoporous carbon exhibit high activity and stability in aerobic oxidative coupling of alcohols and amines to imines.