image: Under non-oxidation conditions, in-situ formed alumina/carbon interface was developed as a cradle for the generation of accessible active sites. It can also tune the porous structure of resultant carbon in the micro- and meso- range. view more
Credit: Chinese Journal of Catalysis
Carbon catalysis is an attractive metal-free catalytic transformation, and its performance is significantly dependent on the number of accessible active sites. However, owing to the inherent stability of the C–C linkage, only limited active sites at the edge defects of the basal plane can be obtained even after a harsh oxidation treatment. Therefore, to promote the development of carbocatalysis, it is highly desirable to enhance the density of the intrinsic active sites of carbon from the perspective of the methodology.
Recently, a research team led by Prof. Gang Liu from Jilin University, China developed a facile interface interaction-induced method to fabricate biomass-derived porous carbons (Bio-PCs) with tunable porosity and surface chemistry. In the absence of oxidation treatment, the concentration of oxygen-containing functional groups and the specific surface area can reach 1.27 mmol·g–1 and 2340 m2·g–1, respectively, which are significantly higher than those of carbon prepared by traditional hard template methods.
This interface interaction-induced method has two consequent steps and corresponding functions. (1) Al-salts (Al(NO3)3•9H2O) were firstly blended with biomass precursors (e.g. starch) forming Al-salts/starch interface. The interfacial combustion induced the formation of “more aromatic” carbon structure and alumina/carbon interface. (2) The alumina/carbon interface functioned as a cradle of oxygen-containing functional groups, generating accessible active sites for imine synthesis. The ash content of resultant carbon could be controlled at as low as 0.02 wt%. The yield of carbon calculated with starch precursor is about 14%.
This active carbon shows a significant enhancement in catalytic performance in the oxidative coupling of amine to imine, about 22-fold higher than that of a well-known graphite oxide catalyst. Such interfacial interaction strategies are based on sustainable carbon sources and can effectively tune the porous structure of carbon in the micro- and meso-ranges. This conceptual finding offers new opportunities for the development of high-performance carbon-based metal-free catalysts. The results were published in Chinese Journal of Catalysis (https://doi.org/ 10.1016/S1872-2067(21)64031-7).
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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (22072054 and 21972053), the Development Project of Science and Technology of Jilin Province (20170101171JC, 20180201068SF), the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry (202105) and the Open Project Program of Key Laboratory of Preparation and Application of Environmental Friendly Materials (Jilin Normal University), Ministry of Education, China (No.2020009).
About the Journal
Chinese Journal of Catalysis is co-sponsored by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Chemical Society, and it is currently published by Elsevier group. This monthly journal publishes in English timely contributions of original and rigorously reviewed manuscripts covering all areas of catalysis. The journal publishes Reviews, Accounts, Communications, Articles, Highlights, Perspectives, and Viewpoints of highly scientific values that help understanding and defining of new concepts in both fundamental issues and practical applications of catalysis. Chinese Journal of Catalysis ranks among the top two journals in Applied Chemistry with a current SCI impact factor of 12.92. The Editors-in-Chief are Profs. Can Li and Tao Zhang.
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