Ni@PC as a stabilized catalyst toward the efficient hydrogenation of quinoline at ambient temperature

Abstract

Herein, a series of Ni-based catalysts with excellent hydrogenation activity have been synthesized via a new starch-assistant-confinement (SAC) strategy, which is the first time this has been used to develop an effective catalyst in the field of hydrogenation. As expected, the Ni@PC-900-1-4% catalyst shows a large BET surface area of 566 m² g⁻¹, which favors a substrate being transferred with nanoparticles that are dispersed uniformly, making the active sites more exposed to the substrate. The catalyst enables highly-efficient hydrogenation of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds. Most importantly, as a gram-scale test, the catalyst also exhibits efficient activity to obtain an excellent yield of around 90% under mild conditions.