Transition Metal Oxide-Modified Ir Nanoparticles Supported on SBA-15 Silica for Selective Hydrogenation of Substituted Nitroaromatics
Hongbo Yu, Chunzheng Wu, Shiwei Wang, Tong Li, Hongfeng Yin
Abstract
Modification of active metals with metal oxide modifiers has attracted considerable attention in heterogeneous catalysis due to their synergistic effect. However, a controllable synthesis of highly reactive and stable metal–metal oxide hybrid nanocatalysts is difficult. To solve this problem, presynthesized IrM (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) bimetallic nanoparticles were initially confined in the mesopores of SBA-15 and were then in situ transformed to Ir-MOx hybrids. The obtained Ir-MOx/SBA-15 nanocatalysts show superior activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of substituted nitroaromatics to corresponding aromatic amines compared to Ir/SBA-15. Among these Ir-based catalysts, Ir-FeOx/SBA-15 exhibits the highest activity and selectivity and has a wider substrate scope due to the interaction between Ir and FeOx. Therefore, our research provides a way to design reactive and stable hydrogenation catalysts.