We report a C–Pd catalyst derived from a renewable cellulose resource that exhibited excellent catalytic activity and reusability in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction.

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The hydrogenation products of aromatic molecules with reducible groups (such as C=C, NO2, C=O, etc.) are relatively critical intermediate compounds in fine chemicals, but how to accurately reduce only specific groups is still challenging. In this work, a bimetallic Pt-Ni/Chitin catalyst was prepared for the first time by using renewable biomass resource chitin as support. As the carrier, the chitin was constructed into porous nanofibrous microspheres through the sol-gel strategy, which was favorable for the adhesion of nano-metals and the exchange of reactive substances due to its large surface area, porous structure, and rich functional groups. Then the Pt-Ni/Chitin catalyst was applied to selective hydrogenation with the model substrate of 4-nitrostyrene. As the highly dispersed Pt-Ni NPs with abundant exposed active sites and the synergistic effect of bimetals, the Pt-Ni/Chitin catalyst could efficiently and selectively hydrogenate only NO2 or C=C with yields of ~99% and TOF of 660 h−1, as well as good stability. This utilization of biomass resources to build catalyst materials would be important for the green and sustainable chemistry.

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