Nickel phosphide nanoalloy catalyst for the selective deoxygenation of sulfoxides to sulfides under ambient H₂ pressure

Exploring novel catalysis by less common, metal–non-metal nanoalloys is of great interest in organic synthesis. We herein report a titanium-dioxide-supported nickel phosphide nanoalloy (nano-Ni₂P/TiO₂) that exhibits high catalytic activity for the deoxygenation of sulfoxides. nano-Ni₂P/TiO₂ deoxygenated various sulfoxides to sulfides under 1 bar of H₂, representing the first non-noble metal catalyst for sulfoxide deoxygenation under ambient H₂ pressure. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that this high activity is due to cooperative catalysis by nano-Ni₂P and TiO₂.