Mo2N nanobelts for dehydrogenation of aromatic alcohols

•Mo2N nanobelts about 60 nm wide and 0.5–7.2 μm long have been synthesized.•The Mo2N nanobelts selectively catalyzed dehydrogenation of aromatic alcohols.•The coordinatively unsaturated Mo species might be the catalytically active sites.

Mo2N nanobelts about 60 nm wide and 0.5–7.2 μm long have been synthesized by reacting a belt-shaped α-MoO3 precursor with ammonia at 850 °C. The Mo2N nanobelts effectively and selectively catalyzed dehydrogenation of a variety of aromatic alcohols. The coordinatively unsaturated Mo sites on the surface of the Mo2N nanobelts might be the active species.

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