Silica-supported Fe/Fe–O nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles to amines in the presence of aluminium additives

Abstract

The hydrogenation of nitriles to amines represents an important and frequently used industrial process due to the broad applicability of the resulting products in chemistry and life sciences. Despite the existing portfolio of catalysts reported for the hydrogenation of nitriles, the development of iron-based heterogeneous catalysts for this process is still a challenge. Here, we show that the impregnation and pyrolysis of iron(II) acetate on commercial silica produces a reusable Fe/Fe–O@SiO2 catalyst with a well-defined structure comprising the fayalite phase at the Si–Fe interface and α-Fe nanoparticles, covered by an ultrathin amorphous iron(III) oxide layer, growing from the silica matrix. These Fe/Fe–O core–shell nanoparticles, in the presence of catalytic amounts of aluminium additives, promote the hydrogenation of all kinds of nitriles, including structurally challenging and functionally diverse aromatic, heterocyclic, aliphatic and fatty nitriles, to produce primary amines under scalable and industrially viable conditions.

Magnetite Nanoparticles in Magnetic Hyperthermia and Cancer Therapies: Challenges and Perspectives

“…Due to their various properties, there is growing interest in the use of nanoparticles to develop new materials of unusual and novel features [ 14 , 15 ]. Currently nanoparticles are tested in various fields such as catalysis [ 16 , 17 ], energy storage [ 18 ], energy conversion [ 19 , 20 ], and optoelectronic, for example, as light-emitting diodes [ 21 ]. In the case of the biomedical applications, NPs are tested not only as anticancer agents, which will be discussed later in this paper but also as antibacterial agents (for example in form of the layers on medical implants) [ 22 , 23 ], and sensitive tests to detect various diseases [ 24 , 25 ].…”

General Construction of Amine via Reduction of N=X (X = C, O, H) Bonds Mediated by Supported Nickel Boride Nanoclusters

“…To improve this, researchers have developed a variety of homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. For example, non-precious metals, such as iron [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], cobalt [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], copper [ 48 , 49 ], nickel [ 10 , 11 , 21 , 24 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ], manganese [ 6 , 54 , 55 ], and noble metals, such as palladium [ 19 , 56 , 57 , 58 ], platinum [ 59 ], ruthenium [ 8 , 60 , 61 , 62 ], rhodium [ 28 , 63 , 64 , 65 ], samarium [ 66 ], and iridium [ 67 ], have been employed to construct hydrogenation catalysts.…”

Lignin Residue-Derived Carbon-Supported Nanoscale Iron Catalyst for the Selective Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes and Aromatic Aldehydes

“… 7 − 10 In particular, hydrogenation reactions with iron-based catalysts in the presence of molecular hydrogen have strongly boosted the catalysis research because iron is the most abundant element on the Earth, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and non-toxic. 2 , 11 , 12 Its catalytic utility has also benefited some bioactive compound synthesis and materials science. 2 , 12 Hence, it is highly important to design iron catalysts and to promote them in clean and sustainable hydrogenation processes, aiming at chemical manufacturing with high efficiency and atom economy.…”

“… 2 , 11 , 12 Its catalytic utility has also benefited some bioactive compound synthesis and materials science. 2 , 12 Hence, it is highly important to design iron catalysts and to promote them in clean and sustainable hydrogenation processes, aiming at chemical manufacturing with high efficiency and atom economy. 2 , 3 , 12 …”

“… 2 , 12 Hence, it is highly important to design iron catalysts and to promote them in clean and sustainable hydrogenation processes, aiming at chemical manufacturing with high efficiency and atom economy. 2 , 3 , 12 …”