Magnetically Reusable Carbon Nanotube Coated Co-based Catalysts towards Highly Efficient Transfer Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes

Development of efficient and stable non-noble metal catalysts applied to the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions is still challenging. Herein, we report magnetically recyclable catalysts prepared via simple two-stage pyrolysis of Co-MOF-74 and melamine composites. The optimized catalyst Co@C/CNTs-10-700 shows excellent conversion and selectivity towards transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes with different hydrogen donors. Its excellent stability against formic acid corrosion makes it can be used in a wide range. The excellent catalytic performance can be ascribed to the synergistic effect between carbon nanotubes and Co nanoparticles. Furthermore, the catalyst was easily recycled owing to its magnetism and reused up to ten consecutive cycles without significant loss of activity, indicating that the excellent catalytic stability holds great promise in fields of industrial application. Magnetically reusable carbon nanotubes coated Co-based catalysts was used in the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes with different hydrogen donors, such as hydrazine hydrate, formic acid and isopropanol. image