Strong Synergy between Ti3C2 and N-Doped Co Nanoparticles Boosts the Selective Hydrogenation of Propyne

Two-dimensional (2D) metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides (MXenes) have recently emerged as promising candidates in catalysis due to their unique properties. In this work, we composited Ti3C2 with Co-embedded N-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via the pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-67) for propyne selective hydrogenation. Detailed characterizations show that strong synergistic effects are observed between the Ti3C2 and Co-embedded N-doped CNTs in the composite catalysts. This work provides an efficient strategy to achieve N-doping on Co nanoparticles, which play a vital role in the propyne selective hydrogenation. The optimized catalyst gives a high propyne conversion (∼99%) and high propene selectivity (∼96%) on propyne selective hydrogenation at 150 °C, which surpasses the reported non-noble metal catalysts in literature works. This work may not only open an avenue for obtaining active and selective catalysts for propyne selective hydrogenation but also promote research on the role of MXenes in catalysis.