Efficient photocatalytic one-pot hydrogenation and N-alkylation of nitrobenzenes/benzonitriles with alcohols over Pd/MOFs: Effect of the crystal morphology & "quasi-MOF" structure

One-pot multi-step reactions over visible-light induced catalysis feature the sustainable green process. Here, ligand structure change and 2-MI coordinated modulation were adapted to adjust the crystal size, morphology and crystalline structure of Fe-MOFs; double solvent impregnation was employed for the Pd loading; "quasi-MOF" materials with retained morphology were formed with calcination under N-2. Above modified materials were employed as multifunctional photocatalysts for highly efficient one-pot hydrogenation and N-alkylation of nitrobenzenes or benzonitriles with alcohols after in situ Pd photoreduction. Photocatalytic performance was evidently affected by the Fe-MOFs crystal size, morphology, crystalline structure alteration and "quasi-MOF" construction. One-pot hydrogenation and N-alkylation of benzonitriles with alcohols was achieved with excellent catalytic performance firstly in heteroegeneous catalysis. Reaction mechanism was proposed with the assistance of in situ DRIFTS. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.