Cobalt-and-Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanoparticle Catalysts for Selective Hydrogen Transfer Reactions

Herein, we designed and prepared one cobalt–nitrogen-doped carbon (Co–N/C) nanoparticle catalyst with a metal–ligand cooperation (MLC) effect, where the MLC concept is significant in the catalytic hydrogenation reactions but limited to the homogeneous catalysts. The nanoparticles Co–N/C with the size of 138–172 nm catalyzed diverse organic reactions with high efficiency and selectivity, including the reductive formylation of nitroarenes with formic acid, C–N coupling between alcohols and amines, and selective hydrogenation of quinolines with H2. Detailed spectroscopic characterizations and controlled experiments revealed that the Co–N species is the catalytically active site. In addition, the recycled catalyst showed outstanding stability and reusability. Therefore, MLC is demonstrated to be effective in heterogeneous catalysts as well, paving the way to discover catalysts.