Liberating N-CNTs Confined Highly Dispersed CoN<sub>x</sub> Sites for Selective Hydrogenation of Quinolines.

Gong, Wanbing; Yuan, Qinglin; Chen, Chun; Lv, Yang; Lin, Yue; Liang, Changhao; Wang, Guozhong; Zhang, Haimin et al. · Adv Mater · 2019

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Selective hydrogenation of quinoline and its derivatives is an important means to produce corresponding 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines for a wide spectrum of applications. A facile and efficient "laser irradiation in liquid" technique to liberate the inaccessible highly dispersed CoN<sub>x</sub> active sites confined inside N-doped carbon nanotubes is demonstrated. The liberated CoN<sub>x</sub> sites possess generic catalytic activities toward selective hydrogenation of quinoline and its hydroxyl, methyl, and halogen substituted derivatives into corresponding 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines with almost 100% conversion efficiency and selectivity. This laser irradiation treatment approach should be widely applicable to unlock the catalytic powers of inaccessible catalytic active sites confined by other materials.