Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 as a promising catalyst for selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes to corresponding aryl amines in the presence of Lewis acid

• Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 shows promising catalytic properties for selective hydrogenation.
• The superior catalytic properties are ascribed to synergism of catalyst/Lewis acid.
• The mpg-C3N4 efficiently strengthens the synergism between catalyst and Lewis acid.
• Support type notably affects the dispersion and reducibility of supported NiO–WOx.
• Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 can be a practical catalyst for synthesis of diverse arylamines.

The selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes to their corresponding aryl amines has been investigated over the supported nickel propoted tungsten carbide catalyst on polymeric mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4) in the presence of Lewis acid. The Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 is demonstrated much higher catalytic activity and selectivity for the selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene than the supported Ni–W2C catalyst on activated carbon (Ni–W2C/AC) and mesoporous carbon (Ni–W2C/CMK-3), and the developed Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 also exhibits excellent catalytic properties for the selective hydrogenation of various substrates comprising the extra reducible functionalized groups besides nitro group to diverse functionalized arylamines, industrially important compounds, offering more than 92% of yield with 100% selectivity, which may be ascribed to the strengthened mass transfer by using mesoporous support, intentified synergistic effect between Ni–W2C/mpg–C3N4 and Lewis acid owing to the basicity of mpg-C3N4, as well as the improved reducibility of NiO-WO3 and the dispersion of Ni–W2C. It can be also found that the developed catalyst could be easily recovered by filtration and recycled many times without visible loss in its catalytic performance. The significantly improved catalytic properties of supported Ni–W2C catalyst fabricated by using mpg-C3N4 as a superior carrier in the presence of Lewis acid allows it to be a promising candidate for the clean and highly-efficient synthesis of diverse functionalized arylamines through the selectivie hydrogenation of substituted nitroarenes.

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