Synthesis of Fe2O3/rGO/N-rGO Catalyst and Its Application in Selective Hydrogenation of Nitrobenzene

Iron-based catalysts exhibited excellent performance for ammonia synthesis, production of olefins (via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis), selective catalytic reduction of NOx, and so on. It is of great significance to explore new applications and mechanisms of iron catalysis , which has attracted more attention for its abundance, low price, and nontoxicity. Herein, a convenient and stable iron oxide(Fe2O3)-based catalyst was prepared via the pyrolysis of graphene oxide, aniline and ferrous acetate at varied temperature (denoted as Fe2O3/rGO/N-rGO), in which active Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) were supported on composite carbon films composed of reduced graphene oxide and nitrogen-reduced graphene oxide. The resulting Fe2O3/rGO/N-rGO composites were applied for the selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene. It was found that Fe2O3/rGO/N-rGO-700 composite was highly active and stable for the direct selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline under mild conditions, because of large surface area, micropore-mesopore compound channel and dispersed Fe2O3 NPs. At the same time , it was found that the hydrogenation of NB performed mainly in a direct routine, which can depress the formation of those byproducts with high boiling points.