In this work, MOF-derived Ni@C catalysts with rich defects
were
synthesized using a facile thermally decarboxylation-induced defect
strategy for nitrocyclohexane (NCH) hydrogenation. It was found that
the strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) between the defect-rich
carbon and Ni promotes the dispersion of Ni nanoparticles, reduces
the Ni particle size, and affects the surface charge state of Ni to
form electron-deficient Ni, thus exhibiting outstanding catalytic
activity. Additionally, in situ diffuse reflectance
infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS)
illustrates that the transformation path of nitrosocyclohexane (N-NCH)
is critical for obtaining high selectivity to cyclohexanone oxime
(CHO). Furthermore, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations
confirm that the SMSI between the defect-rich carbon and Ni leads
to the formation of electron-deficient Ni with a lower d-band center,
which can weaken the adsorption of N-NCH and CHO, enhance the adsorption
of N-cyclohexylhydroxylamine (N-CHH) and cyclohexylamine (CHA), reduce
the reaction energy of the N-NCH to CHO, and increase the reaction
energy of the N-NCH to CHA, thus showing the highest selectivity to
CHO. Under optimum conditions, Ni@DC-0.06 gives 97.2% selectivity
to CHO at 95.2% NCH conversion.