Pd nanoparticles supported on N-doped porous carbons derived from ZIF-67: Enhanced catalytic performance in phenol hydrogenation

We reported a Pd@CN catalyst made of Pd nanoparticles supported on a N-doped carbon derived from ZIF-67. The CN materials with micro/mesoporous structures were well developed for the loading of Pd nanoparticles and improving the catalytic performances. With the increase of calcination temperature of ZIF-67, the BET surface of CN materials initially increased and then reduced. Moreover, the higher calcination temperature would lead to lower nitrogen content in CN materials, causing lower selectivity of phenol hydrogenation to cyclohexanone. Our Pd@CN₆₀₀ catalyst achieved a conversion of ca. 95% and a selectivity of ca. 95%, and exhibited excellent stability during recycling experiments.