MIL-53(Al)衍生的Rh单原子催化剂在间氯硝基苯选择性加氢制间氯苯胺反应中的应用

卤代苯胺是化学工业中重要的中间体,主要用于制造药物、聚合物、染料等含氮化学品,用多相金属催化剂催化卤代硝基芳烃加氢制备卤代苯胺是一种高效,绿色和可持续发展的生产工艺.该过程需要选择性加氢硝基基团,同时避免卤素基团的脱卤副反应发生.然而,化学选择性加氢存在巨大的挑战,难点在于催化剂的精准设计,一方面要求具备对硝基基团合适的加氢能力,另一方面要阻止对卤素基团的脱卤副反应发生.基于此,研制高效多相金属催化剂用于卤代硝基芳烃选择性加氢制备卤代苯胺反应引起了高度关注.近年来,单原子金属催化剂受到越来越多的关注,并在卤代硝基芳烃选择性加氢制备卤代苯胺反应中显现出极大的潜力.本文通过在金属有机骨架材料MIL-53(Al)自组装的过程中将金属Rh原位嫁接其骨架结构中,继而通过限域热解的方法制备了Rh@Al2O3@C单原子催化剂,其在间氯硝基苯(m-CNB)加氢制间氯苯胺(m-CAN)反应中显现了高效催化选择性.球差校正高角度环形暗场模式的透射电镜,CO作为探针分子的红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱等结果发现,Rh是以单原子的形式均匀的分布在Al2O3上并被无定型碳包覆,且Rh化学价态呈正价.而27Al固体核磁共振与密度泛函理论计算的结果则进一步确定Al2O3@C载体中存在的五配位的Al物种(AlV)是锚定Rh单原子的主要位点,AlV的不饱和的配位结构可以有效地稳定Rh单原子,对形成Rh位点的单原子分散至关重要.在间氯硝基苯选择性加氢制间氯苯胺反应中,与等体积浸渍法制备的Rh/C和Rh/γ-Al2O3纳米催化剂相比,Rh@Al2O3@C单原子催化剂表现出优异催化性能:其在313 K,氢气压力为20 bar的温和条件下转换频率(TOF)高达2317 molm-CNB·molRh-1·h-1,优于已报道的多相金属催化剂,是目前的最高值.此外,该催化剂展现出极佳的稳定性能,经过五次循环后,该催化剂对m-CAN的选择性仍旧保持在98％左右.Rh@Al2O3@C单原子催化剂的优异催化性能源自于金属单原子结构的形成对于金属位点电子结构的有效调节,进而调控催化剂加氢性能并实现对加氢脱卤副反应的抑制;与此同时,Rh@Al2O3@C催化剂增进了酸位点的可及性,从而促进了其串联步骤中包含的脱水反应的发生,进而有效提高催化剂的反应活性.

MIL-53 (Al) derived single-atom Rh catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of m-chloronitrobenzene into m-chloroaniline

The catalytic hydrogenation of halonitroarenes to haloanilines is a green and sustainable process for the production of key nitrogen-containing intermediates in fine chemical industry. Chemoselec-tive hydrogenation poses a significant challenge, which requires the rational design of the catalysts with proper hydrogenation ability for nitro group and simultaneously preventing dehalogenation of halogen group. Herein, a highly effective Rh@Al2O3@C single-atom catalyst (SAC) was developed for the hydrogenation of m-chloronitrobenzene (m-CNB) to m-chloroaniline (m-CAN), through an in-situ grafting of metal during the assembly of MIL-53 (Al), followed by confined pyrolysis. Exten-sive characterizations reveal an exquisite structure of the Rh@Al2O3@C, containing atomically dis-persed Rh sites onto Al2O3 confined by the amorphous carbon. The five-coordinated aluminum (AlV) species are essential for achieving the atomic dispersion of Rh atoms, providing the unsaturated coordinative sites for metal. Compared to the benchmark Rh/γ-Al2O3 and Rh/C nanocatalysts, the Rh@Al2O3@C SAC affords an excellent turnover frequency of 2317 molm-CNB·molRh-1·h-1, the highest value to date in heterogeneous catalyst systems for the hydrogenation of m-CNB at 313 K and 20 bar H2, together with a sustained selectivity to m-CAN (～98％) during five consecutive runs. The superior catalytic performance of the Rh@Al2O3@C is attributed to a proper modulation of elec-tronic structure of hydrogenation metal by forming SAC, together with an enhanced accessibility of acid function sites.