A facile approach to constructing Pd@PCN–Se nano-composite catalysts for selective alcohol oxidation reactions

Abstract

By using selenium as the structure-directing agent, Se-incorporated polymeric carbon nitride (PCN–Se) was prepared for the first time and could be used as a superexcellent support for Pd nanoparticles (NPs). A trace amount of Se dopant (0.01 wt%) was found to play an unexpectedly vital role in increasing the materials' surface area and total mesoporous volume by 4.5 and 2 times respectively, so the Pd@PCN–Se catalyst might contain even more active sites than its simple PCN and Pd@PCN counterparts, and a strong interaction between Se(0) and Pd(II) was also built-in, affording a dramatically improved catalytic activity as well as good recycling stability in selective catalytic alcohol oxidation reactions.