Pt Nanoclusters Supported on Ti₃C₂Tx Nanosheets for the Selective Hydrogenation of Halogenated Nitroarenes under Mild Conditions

We successfully constructed an ultrathin Ti3C2Tx supported Pt nanocluster catalyst for highly selective and efficient hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene (p-CNB) to p-chloroaniline (p-CAN) under mild conditions (30 °C, 0.1 MPa H2). The Pt/Ti3C2Tx catalyst displayed a very high conversion (>99%) and selectivity (>99%). In addition, a higher reaction rate (41 mol h–1 g–1) was obtained in comparison with the previously reported catalysts. The excellent catalytic activity of Pt/Ti3C2Tx was attributed to the strong metal–support interactions between Pt nanoclusters and the support, in which the electrons were transferred from Ti3C2Tx to Pt sites, affording a high electron density of Pt active sites. Moreover, the electrostatic repulsion between C–Cl moiety and Pt sites inhibited the dechlorination process. In addition, the Pt/Ti3C2Tx catalyst also exhibited excellent performance in substrate scope (reducible heterocyclics such as pyridine and phthalimide), stability (10th cycles, conversion >99% and selectivity 98%), and gram-scale reaction (99% yield, 1.89 g). This work will promote the research in constructing efficient and highly selective noble metal-based catalysts for hydrogenation of halogenated nitroarenes.