Conjugated polymers with defined chemical structure as model carbon catalysts for nitro reduction

Abstract

A series of conjugated polymers (YPB-x) with designated chemical structure are synthesized as model carbon catalysts for mechanistic and kinetic studies of nitroaromatic reduction reactions. The reaction kinetics show that ketonic carbonyl groups are active sites for the nitrobenzene (NB) reduction. A catalytic reaction mechanism involving the activation of hydrazine with carbon catalysts and the subsequent reduction of NB is proposed to describe the catalytic process molecularly. The turnover frequency of heterogeneous carbon catalysts in the liquid phase is reported for the fair comparison of the intrinsic activity among different carbon catalysts.