A new molecular pathway allows the chemoselective reduction of nitroaromatics on non-noble metal catalysts

[EN] At difference with noble metals, the oxophylic character of non-noble metals strongly facilitates the rupture of the N-O bonds in nitrobenzene, yielding nitrosobenzene as primary reaction intermediate. By combining periodic DFT calculations and kinetic studies, a direct pathway involving succes...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Millán-Cabrera, Reisel|||0000-0002-4489-5411, Boronat Zaragoza, Mercedes|||0000-0002-6211-5888, Corma Canós, Avelino|||0000-0002-2232-3527, Liu, Lichen
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/190275
Acesso em linha:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/190275
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:DFT
Mechanism
Nitroaromatics hydrogenation
Chemoselectivity
Non-noble metals
Descrição
Resumo:[EN] At difference with noble metals, the oxophylic character of non-noble metals strongly facilitates the rupture of the N-O bonds in nitrobenzene, yielding nitrosobenzene as primary reaction intermediate. By combining periodic DFT calculations and kinetic studies, a direct pathway involving successive dissociation of N-O bonds followed by two hydrogenation steps, Ph-NO2 -> Ph-NO -> Ph-N -> Ph-NH -> Ph-NH2, has been found as most favorable on Ni catalysts. The rate determining step of the global process is the hydrogen transfer to adsorbed Ph-N intermediate. The catalyst surface becomes partly oxidized during reaction, which favors the vertical adsorption of the nitroaromatic compounds and enhances selectivity, while total surface oxidation leads to catalyst deactivation. It is proposed that both catalytic activity and selectivity of Ni and, possibly, other non-noble metals can be tuned by controlling the degree of oxidation of the metal surface. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords