Pd Nanoparticles Assembled on Metalporphyrin-Based Microporous Organic Polymer as Efficient Catalyst for Tandem Dehydrogenation of Ammonia Borane and Hydrogenation of Nitro Compounds

Abstract Metalporphyrin-based porous polymers supporting high dispersed Pd nanoparticle (NP) catalysts (HUST-1-Pd) were prepared with a novel solvent-knitting hyper-crosslinked polymer method using 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) as building blocks. The N 2 sorption isotherms of the catalysts show that the HUST-1-Pd possesses many ultra-micropores and continuous mesopores. The NPs are assembled on tetraphenylporphyrin structures and show Pd-N 4 composition-dependent catalysis for methanolysis of ammonia borane (AB) and hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds to primary amines in methanol solutions at room temperature. The nano-palladium reduced by NaBH 4 has efficient catalytic activity for AB methanolysis. A variety of R-NO 2 derivatives were reduced selectively into R-NH 2 via palladium catalyzed tandem reactions with 5–30 min of reaction time with conversion yields reaching up to 90%. The derivatives also give excellent recycling performance (more than 10 times). Furthermore, the turnover frequency (TOF) can reach 87,209 h −1 . The HUST-1-Pd compounds represent a unique metal catalyst for hydrogenation reactions in a green environment without using pure hydrogen. Graphic Abstract A monodisperse Pd NPs embed in porphyrin-based microporous organic polymer was reported to catalyse the tandem dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and hydrogenation of R-NO 2 to R-NH 2 at room temperature. The catalyst is efficient and reusable in an environment-friendly process with short reaction times and high yields.