Graphene-like wrapped Ni@C catalyst with magnetic recyclability for selective hydrogenation of nitro-aromatics

Abstract

Abstract The graphene-like wrapped Ni@C catalysts were facilely synthesized by a modified sol–gel method. Nickel nitrate and citric acid (CA) were adopted as the raw materials to form sol–gel mixture. Under the circumstances, the additive CA were employed not only as a complexing agent but also as a carbon source. It is found that the calcination temperature and the mole ratios between Ni and CA are the key factors affecting the physical property and the catalytic performance of catalysts in the conversion of nitroarenes into corresponding anilines. The results show that the Ni@C-500(1:1) catalyst exhibited the best performance in the hydrogenation of o-chloronitrobenzenes (o-CNB) to o-chloroanilines (o-CAN). The yield of o-CAN was achieved at 100% when o-CNB was completely converted at 40.0 °C under 2.0 MPa H2 for 2.0 h. Furthermore, the Ni@C-500(1:1) catalyst could be separated and recovered easily after reaction by an external magnetic field. The investigated results indicate that the Ni@C-500(1:1) catalyst remained higher activity after using twelve times. More importantly, this kind of catalyst is also active for the selective hydrogenation of other nitroarenes into the corresponding anilines. This new synthetic method may pave a way for producing low-cost Ni@C catalysts on a large scale, which is attractive for industrial anilines applications.