Amino-grafted graphene as a stable and metal-free solid basic catalyst

Abstract

Metal-free catalysts are essential for various chemical reactions in industrial chemistry. Amino-functionalized carbon is a cheap and environmentally friendly solid basic catalyst. Here, NEt₃-graphene solid basic catalyst has been synthesized through a consecutive deprotonation/carbometalation and electrophilic substituent. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analyses, thermal analyses, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies confirmed the formation of the target structure. Catalytic hydrolysis of ethyl acetate reveals that the amino-grafted graphene has a high catalytic activity.