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

Abstract 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 N2. 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.