Mild-temperature hydrogenation of carbonyls over Co-ZIF-9 derived Co-ZIF-x nanoparticle catalyst

Benzimidazole and metal cobalt salts were employed in the synthesis of Co-ZIF-9 by solvothermal crystallization. Highly active catalysts for selective hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds were developed. The optimal nanocatalyst Co-ZIF-350 manifested remarkable activity and selectivity for the hydrogenation of cyclohexanone under mild conditions. Catalytic conversion of cyclohexanone reached the highest over the catalyst of Co-ZIF-9-pyrolyzed at 350 °C for 2 h, in which the conversion of cyclohexanone was 100 % and the selectivity of cyclohexanol was ＞99 % at 50 °C. A wide scope of ketones/aromatic aldehydes could be selectively reduced to the corresponding alcohols with high yields. Importantly, the nanocatalyst Co-ZIF-350 presented good tolerance of substrates with various functional groups under mild conditions.