Boosting Chemoselective Hydrogenation of Nitroaromatic via Synergy of Hydrogen Spillover and Preferential Adsorption on Magnetically Recoverable Pt@Fe2O3

Abstract

It is highly desired but challenging to design high performance catalyst for selective hydrogenation of nitro compounds into amino compounds. Herein, a boosting chemoselective hydrogenation strategy on Pt@Fe₂O₃ is proposed with gradient oxygen vacancy by synergy of hydrogen spillover and preferential adsorption. Experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the nitro is preferentially adsorbed onto oxygen vacancy of Pt@Fe₂O₃, meanwhile, the H₂ dissociated on Pt nanoparticles and then spillover to approach the nitro for selective hydrogenation (>99% conversion of 4-nitrostyrene, > 99% selectivity of 4-aminostyrene, TOF of 2351 h⁻¹). Moreover, the iron oxide support endows the catalyst magnetic retrievability. This high activity, selectivity, and easy recovery strategy provide a promising avenue for selective hydrogenation catalysis of various nitroaromatic.