Commercial Cu2Cr2O5 Decorated with Iron Carbide Nanoparticles as a Multifunctional Catalyst for Magnetically Induced Continuous-Flow Hydrogenation of Aromatic Ketones

Copper chromite is decorated with iron carbide nanoparticles, producing a magnetically activatable multifunctional catalytic system. This system (ICNPs@Cu2Cr2O5) can reduce aromatic ketones to aromatic alcohols when exposed to magnetic induction. Under magnetic excitation, the ICNPs generate locally confined hot spots, selectively activating the Cu2Cr2O5 surface while the global temperature remains low (approximate to 80 degrees C). The catalyst selectively hydrogenates a scope of benzylic and non-benzylic ketones under mild conditions (3 bar H-2, heptane), while ICNPs@Cu2Cr2O5 or Cu2Cr2O5 are inactive when the same global temperature is adjusted by conventional heating. A flow reactor is presented that allows the use of magnetic induction for continuous-flow hydrogenation at elevated pressure. The excellent catalytic properties of ICNPs@Cu2Cr2O5 for the hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfuralacetone are conserved for at least 17 h on stream, demonstrating for the first time the application of a magnetically heated catalyst to a continuously operated hydrogenation reaction in the liquid phase.