Hierarchical ZrO2@N-doped carbon nano-networks anchored ultrafine Pd nanoparticles for highly efficient catalytic hydrogenation

Carbon supported metal catalysts have received considerable interest due to their widespread applications in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the controllable synthesis of carbon support with defined morphology and composition still represents great challenging. Herein, we reported the synthesis of a well-defined hierarchically nanosized H-ZrO 2 /NC (nitrogen-doped carbon) network via an inheritable carbonization strategy. When immobilizing the palladium clusters into the support, the N-doped sites and oxygen vacancy of the carbon composite can effectively stabilize and activate Pd through strong metal-support interaction which was also confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the hierarchically nanosized network can contribute to the exposure of active sites and facilitate the mass transfer during the catalytic process. As a result, benefiting from the hierarchical structure, composition and hydrolytic nature, Pd@H-ZrO 2 /NC exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability towards the hydrogenation of furfural in mild reaction conditions, as well as good universality toward the hydrogenation of a series of unsaturated hydrocarbons.