Tandem Catalysis of Ammonia Borane Dehydrogenation and Phenylacetylene Hydrogenation Catalyzed by CeO2 Nanotube/Pd@MIL‐53(Al)

Abstract

Heterogeneously catalyzed selective hydrogenation in the liquid phase is widely used in industry for the synthesis of chemicals. However, it can be a challenge to prevent active nanoparticles ( e.g. Pd) from aggregation/leaching, and meanwhile, to achieve a high conversion as well as selectivity, especially under a mild condition. To address these issues, CeO 2 nanotube/Pd@MIL–53(Al) sandwich structured catalyst is prepared, in which the MIL–53(Al) porous shell can efficiently stabilize Pd nanoparticles. When this kind of catalyst is used in the tandem catalytic reactions between the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and the phenylacetylene hydrogenation, remarkably, the in–situ released hydrogen species from the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane boosts the catalysis process with 100 % phenylacetylene conversion and the selectivity of 96.2 % for styrene, even under the room temperature and atmospheric pressure within 1 min. This work provides an alternative strategy to balance the conversion and selectivity in liquid‐phase hydrogenation reactions.