PtNi/C bimetallic nanocatalyst with high catalytic performance and stability for 1-nitronaphthalene hydorgenation to 1-naphthylamine

In this report, the Ni/C sample was successfully prepared at room temperature (RT) by depositing nickel related species on carbon black by a chemical liquid reduction method with hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent, Pt/C was synthesized via a wetness impregnation method. And Pt was supported on Ni/C by galvanic replacement reaction to form PtNi/C bimetallic nanocatalyst. By comparing the catalytic performance of different catalysts for 1-nitronaphthalene hydrogenation, it could be found that the PtNi/C bimetallic nanocatalyst showed higher catalytic activity than monometallic nanocatalysts (Pt/C and Ni/C), exhibiting 100 % conversion of 1-nitronaphthalene, 100 % selectivity to 1-naphthylamine and turnover frequency of 194.9 h −1 under mild reaction conditions (40 min, 30 °C, 3.0 MPa H 2 ). The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, HAADF-STEM, STEM-EDX mapping and line-scanning, TG, HRTEM and H 2 -TPD, which proved that PtNi/C showed most outstanding catalytic behaviors in 1-nitronaphthalene selective hydrogenation due to high dispersion of platinum, the nanostructure of Pt-on-Ni-on-Ni(OH) 2 and thus synergism effect among Pt, Ni and Ni(OH) 2 .