Solvent-free, in-situ thermal synthesis of magnetic cobalt embedded in N-doped carbon as an efficient heterogeneous dual acid-base catalyst

A straightforward in-situ thermal (IST) method to synthesize cobalt-embedded nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (Co@NC) is developed. The IST method shows an advantage in a single-step process without any solvent. Inside the IST process, the analysis techniques with temperature function were applied to investigate the material evolution into the Co@NC. The intermediate structure, like zeolitic-imidazole framework-67, firstly obtains at the low-temperature stage before being derived into Co@NC at the high-temperature stage of the IST process. Several analysis techniques are applied to verify the structural properties of Co@NC. Taking advantage of dual acid-base sites, the Co@NC exhibits high potential heterogeneous cobalt-based carbon catalyst for three model reactions. Moreover, the magnetic character on Co@NC is profitable in the advanced recyclability process over the heterogeneous catalyst.