LAUSR

The reductive N-formylation of amines using CO2 and hydrogen is a promising means of incorporating CO2 into value-added chemicals. To date, there has been a lack of heterogeneous catalyst systems that are sufficiently active and selective for N-formylation of primary amines with CO2 and H2. For the first time, we report that a highly active palladium nanoparticle supported on an hydroxyl group-functionalized carbon material has been designed for the N-formylation of aliphatic primary amines with CO2 and H2. XPS, XRD, FT-Raman, and TEM characterizations revealed the adsorbing of Pd(NH3)xCly onto the carbon support during catalyst preparation, followed by in situ reduction to generate active nano-Pd particles. The catalytic activity of the Pd/C catalysts can be tuned efficiently by the hydroxyl group, which can modulate the hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties of the carbon surface, and promote the adsorption of CO2 and the amines near the Pd sites. The results described here may promote the design of an acti...