Synthesis of graphene encapsulated Fe3C in carbon nanotubes from biomass and its catalysis application

The design and facile synthesis of versatile, non-noble metal catalysts with high activity and stability is extremely important for industrial applications. Herein, a novel, simple and one-pot approach of controlled synthesis of graphene encapsulated Fe3C that embedded in carbon nanotubes (denoted as Fe3C@G-CNT) via direct pyrolysis of renewable biomass (glucose, xylitol and sucrose) was reported. Detailed characterizations results indicated that the morphologies and properties of Fe3C@G-CNT composites depended strongly on pyrolysis temperature. Fe3C@G-CNT-700 (prepared at 700 °C) was highly active and stable for the hydrogenation of nitroarenes to anilines at 40 °C, and this catalyst was also active for the selective hydrogenation of CC bond in several compounds. The synthetic strategy, the structure of iron carbide-based composite and the proposed mechanism may open a new avenue for the development of hydrogenation catalysts.